He noted that decades ago it was considered socially irresponsible to eat in a vehicle. Now some restaurants cater strictly to the "mobile experience," and automakers have accommodated consumers with cupholders.

"All the university types and psychologists" dealt in the past with the driver distractions caused by windshield wipers and radios, but eventually the industry put better controls on those devices to help alleviate the level of distraction, he said.

Like many drivers, he uses the radio at times to remain alert. "It can be distracting. I use it to keep me awake when I'm driving from Arizona to California, and I turn it off when I'm in Boston, because it always gets me in trouble when I try to drive in Boston," Gardner said.

Windshield wipers and radios have long since been surpassed by other distractions sprouting from the tech industry. DVD displays have been integrated into headrests and sun visors, and movies can easily be viewed on devices brought inside cars, such as notebook computers, personal video players and cell phones.

Consumers are lapping them up, and the industry keeps pushing the safety envelope.

"You can audio/video conference across your phone, your cell phone, inside your vehicle, right there," Gardner said. "You can see it, you can watch and talk to your kids while you're driving or whatever . . ."

Kanianthra said he had heard of a company that replaced the driver air bag with a video screen smack in the middle of the steering wheel.

"We thought that was a bad idea, because an air bag is there for a reason," he understated, "and we can't do that."

T. Russell Shields, principal with Ygomi LLC, said the proliferation of devices makes the car a peripheral. Cars often have better displays and certainly better speakers than many handheld CE devices.

Headset help

But what can be done about the distractions gadgets cause? While distraction-alleviating technologies may be on the way, in the short term, drivers can benefit simply by using a headset with their cell phones, according to Beth Johnson, senior director of consumer insights for Plantronics.

Johnson said the company conducted a pair of studies on the subject. In one, 71 percent of test drivers steered more accurately — making the turns they needed to make — using headsets. All had faster brake reaction times, and 92 percent maintained a more-constant speed.

"The research that we've done clearly shows that when you use a headset while driving, you are going to drive more safely and more accurately," she said.