'Eyes on the road,' we’re told. But a growing array of on-board electronics systems are inspiring or requiring our attention. Today, we have assistance in keeping our focus with lane departure, pedestrian, and drowsy driver warning systems, along with brake assistance and active cruise control. All are now standard equipment on many high-end cars and they're making their way to many vehicles.

While these help keep us on track, a growing number of indispensible devices like sophisticated navigation systems and radio/CD/MP3/satellite audio tend to cause eyes to wander from the road. Displays in electric cars show battery state-of-charge, remaining range, and even locations of charging stations. Others offer displays to help achieve greater fuel economy. Soon you'll also be able to surf the net and access Facebook and Twitter while on the road.

All this technology beings incredible benefits to the driving experience. But they also add to driver distraction and the potential for accidents. The delicate balance of delivering what drivers increasingly want and need – while attending to the inherent safety issues that automakers must address – promises to be one of the most important discussions in the coming years.

The reasons are simple: The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that of all police-reported crashes in 2010, some 17 percent involved driver distraction. About a third to a half of these distracted-caused accidents are attributed to distraction when using a cell phone or performing tasks like tuning a radio or entering an address in a navigation system. It’s sobering that in 2010, at least 3,092 people were killed in distraction-affected crashes – one in every 10 fatalities on our highways.

Talking on a cellphone and texting while driving is currently being addressed by 39 states and the  District of Columbia, which already are banning texting while behind the wheel. Nine states and DC ban hand-held cellphone use except for emergencies. Why such concern? Texting on a cellphone is claimed to be 23 times riskier than just talking. It’s no surprise that federal agencies are now taking on distraction caused by communications, entertainment, information gathering, navigation devices, and other electronic devices needed for vehicle safety.

The latest effort is the ‘Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving’ by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), which aims to battle handheld cell phone use by drivers. The blueprint encourages the remaining 11 states without distracted driving laws to enact them, while challenging the auto industry to adopt technology guidelines to decrease the potential for distraction by electronic devices in vehicles. It also includes $2.4 million to expand DOT’s ‘Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other’ pilot enforcement campaign to reduce distracted driving in California and Delaware. National efforts like ‘Click It or Ticket,’ which combine laws with enforcement and public education, have proven successful in changing unsafe driving behavior, say the feds.

An important part of the plan is partnering with driver education programs to include curriculum that educates new drivers on the dangers and the consequences of driver distraction. Beyond the human toll, those consequences can be considerable, as the recent motor vehicle homicide conviction of a texting teenage driver in Massachusetts illustrates. According to NHTSA data, drivers under 25 are up to three times more likely to send texts or e-mail while driving than older drivers.

NHTSA also recently  proposed guidelines – now voluntary – covering manufacturer-installed devices operated by the driver through visual-manual means. These require a driver to look at the device, hand manipulate a control, and watch for visual feedback  They engage the driver’s eyes or hands for more than a very limited time while driving. The guidelines don't apply to electronic warning systems such as Active Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, or Obstacle Warning. Plus, they apply only to cars, SUVs, and other vehicles with a 10,000 pound or less gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).       

Guidelines include recommendations to reduce the complexity and task length required by a device. Examples are limiting operation to one hand so the other is on the steering wheel,  keeping off-road glances limited to no more than two seconds, limiting unnecessary visual information in a driver’s field of view, and limiting the amount of manual inputs required.

The proposed guidelines also recommend disabling the ability for a driver to do such things as browsing the Internet, text messaging, accessing social media, making navigation system entries, dialing a phone, or viewing a display of over 30 text characters unrelated to the driving task.  Devices would not be disabled if they could be used solely by passengers and cannot reasonably be accessed or seen by the driver, or unless the vehicle is stopped and the transmission is in park.

Future guidelines being considered include systems not built into a vehicle, but rather brought in to be used while driving. These include aftermarket and portable navigation systems, smart phones, electronic tablets and pads, and other mobile communications devices. A third set of proposed guidelines could address voice-activated controls to further minimize distraction in factory-installed, aftermarket, and portable devices.

Where will all this lead? Certainly, we will see some very specific rules that define ways to reduce driver distraction because, after all, this is a growing problem. At the same time, we expect these rules to strike a balance that will speak to safety while enabling automakers to provide the electronic amenities increasingly desired in a competitive and connected automotive world.