Car apps keep eyes on the road, off screens

If Shamil Shalwani wants to keep up with his favorite team while he's on the road, he only has to consult his car.

"My favorite app is the sports scores app. When I first saw the feature of the new apps inside the car, I was pretty impressed," Shalwani said.

Digital dashboards were once only found in luxury cars, but they're now being found in cars of all price ranges. Drivers can now update their Facebook pages or reserve a hotel room without ever reaching for a phone.

"Before I got this car, it was very hard to keep the phone out of my hand." Shalwani said.

Mark Takahashi, an automotive editor at Edmunds.com, said the dashboard brings convenience and ease to tasks.

"Say you're in an unfamiliar city and you want dinner reservations or recommendations, or you want to get movie tickets, or you just want to know what's going on. That's pretty much all at your fingertips now," Takahashi said.

While many of these new systems still need a smartphone to operate, they're designed specifically to keep the phone out of drivers' hands so their eyes stay on the road, Takahashi said.

"Some systems don't even utilize a touch screen anymore. Where you have the display well within the driver's line of sight, but you have a little dial right where your hand rests, so you can control everything without really having to reach or pay that much attention on what's going on on-screen," Takahashi said.

AAA worries that these hands-free features might give drivers a false sense of security.

"The message is that they allow you to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. But when you distract your mind from the task of driving it creates a more unsafe driver," said Jake Nelson, director of traffic safety at AAA.

The company has been speaking out on their safety concerns with digital dashboards to Congress.

"Focus squarely on driving. If you must use these technologies, we encourage you to pull over and use them when the vehicle is not in motion. When it's time to get back on the road, focus on driving." Nelson said.

As for Shalwani, he can't imagine driving without his digital dashboard.

"I wanted something more convenient. I wanted something that would get the phone out of my hand. And I really think that they did a good job." Shalwani said.