Google Fighting Distracted Driver Laws 226
Rambo Tribble writes "Reuters reports Google has initiated lobbying efforts to stymie attempts by some states to enact distracted driver laws aimed at wearable technologies, such as Google Glass. 'Google's main point to legislators is that regulation would be premature because Google Glass is not yet widely available, the state elected officials say. Illinois state Senator Ira Silverstein, a Chicago Democrat who introduced a Google Glass restriction bill in December, responded that it was clear the merchandise was heading for the broader public.' Given the toll on our highways shown to arise from distracted drivers, is this responsible corporate behavior to protect their product, or an unethical endangering of lives?"
Re:equal treatment (Score:2, Informative)
Every driver is not going to do that. This is evident by how many people are texting while driving. Yeah every driver should be responsible. That would be great. Then every driver would drive the limit, not tail gate, signal lane changes, not text while driving, not drink while driving. What a beautiful nirvana that would be!
But that is not reality. So we legislate laws because we have already lost way to much as a society to do otherwise.
Re:Bill specifically about Glass is a bad idea... (Score:5, Informative)
I see you know nothing about defensive driving. I'll make it easy for you: a driver is supposed to be AWARE of what is happening around him at all times. That means what is happening immediately in front of you, what is happening way down the road, what is happening to your rear, what is happening to your sides, what is happening with your vehicle. To do that, your eyes should be in motion at almost all times. What you should NEVER do is focus your gaze on any one spot, whether that spot is your phone, the rear of the car in front of you, a supposed 'heads up display', or anywhere else.
Re:Bill specifically about Glass is a bad idea... (Score:5, Informative)
All the evidence I've seen is that having a conversation with an occupant in the vehicle is much safer then using a cell phone. This is mostly due to the occupant having situational awareness so when some tricky piece of driving shows up, they shut up or at least know why you're ignoring them. On top of this is that an occupant can also point out dangerous situations such as yesterday when my wife screamed stop as someone was in my blind spot and going for the same parking spot I was.
I hate talking on the cell when in traffic as the other end has no idea of what is happening and can get uptight just by the conversation being interrupted by having to shift gears.
The dash display can be ignored whereas a heads up display can be more in your face. How often do you need to look at your dash?