Google Goes On The Offensive As States Begin Banning Google Glass While Driving

Motorists in at least six states may be barred from using Google Glass, the eyewear device under test that can access the Internet and take photos with a blink.

Bills in West Virginia, Illinois and New Jersey would include Google Inc. (GOOG)’s glasses among hand-held mobile phones and other gadgets that are barred from use while driving. A measure in New York would make it illegal for motorists to wear Google Glass until the motor vehicle department recommends how a ban could be enforced.

Google, owner of the world’s largest search engine, has been investing in Glass as it bets consumers will shift to wireless devices that let them snap photos, check e-mail or listen to music without smartphones or traditional computers. Hyundai Motor Co. (005380), South Korea’s largest automaker, will include an application to synch Glass with its 2015 Genesis sedan. The bills may cramp Glass sales even as research shows it’s less distracting than smartphones and may be used to help drivers avoid hazards.

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randy3023 - 2/27/2014 3:04:42 PM

+2 Boost

Google needs to back off.

We have enough crazy idiots texting, speeding, and weaving, while other bozos are CHATTING on their phones while going 20 mph under the speed limit.

If people could focus on DRVING instead of interacting with all these stupid gizmos, that would be great. Since the assholes won't do this on their own, I'm all for laws.

Sciros - 2/27/2014 5:04:50 PM

0 Boost

You couldn't be more short-sighted. People use their phones anyway because laws like this are barely enforceable. Cars have TONS of "stupid gizmos" these days, and that's not changing any time soon. Infotainment systems that try to keep you safe by disabling anything useful while the car is in motion merely force people to resort to directly using their phones.

Glass is an alternative that is less distracting because it doesn't force the driver to take their eyes off the road. It is voice-activated and doesn't shut functionality off if the car is moving. It is a far better solution to the problem of cell phones because it REPLACES them with something safer. Thus there is no need for weaksauce laws that are unenforceable.

If you want to actually improve safety on the roads, you replace phones with something equally usable and safer to use. You don't try to attack it by banning this or that or the other. Texting is not legal here while driving; people still do it because who's going to stop them?