{"id":183,"date":"2013-04-05T15:04:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T15:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trafficsafetystore.com\/blog\/?p=183"},"modified":"2013-04-05T15:04:52","modified_gmt":"2013-04-05T15:04:52","slug":"google-glass-distract-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trafficsafetystore.com\/blog\/google-glass-distract-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Google Glass Distract Drivers?"},"content":{"rendered":"Although it hasn’t even come out yet, lawmakers already have their sights set on regulating Google Glass<\/a> when it comes to driving. \u00a0They’re worried that this exciting futuristic device will add to the already growing technical distractions that plague drivers today. \u00a0Google has reassured it’s customers that it’s product can enhance the driving experience rather than hinder it.\n\nThe question is, can officials regulate something that hasn’t technically been fully invented yet?\n\nPresented to the public a little over a year ago, Google Glass started popping up on the internet as well as television ads– promising a new leap in the technology age. \u00a0We probably won’t see this officially released until 2014, but there is still plenty of theories on what we can expect. \u00a0Google Glass acts as a personal head mount display that creates virtual screens you can see right in front of you.\n\nExactly how Google plans to utilize this technology has yet to be seen. \u00a0The current version of Google Glass uses a prism placed just over the wearer’s right eye<\/a>. \u00a0The prism has a mirror and beam splitter that translates the projected image into a display that can be seen with the human eye. \u00a0Google Glass still has plenty of room to grow.\n\n\"Google-Glass-Preview\"\n\nSome people have suggested Google explore holographic\u00a0wave-guide\u00a0optics, a process where light is “squeezed” into a window directly in front of the eye, and is then “released” to create an image you can see. \u00a0Another method involves\u00a0drawing images directly onto the wearer’s retina, which sounds a little to Sci-Fi for my taste.\n\nBut what does it mean to have something projected directly into your line of vision?\n\nWill you be able to go about your day to day activities without being distracted by the data that is constantly being presented to you? A 2010\u00a0National Safety Council (NSC) report<\/a>\u00a0states that\u00a021% of all car crashes involved people talking on handheld or hands-free cell phones, and\u00a0at least 160,000 car crashes involved texting<\/a>. \u00a0In 2012, the NSC\u00a0estimates<\/a>\u00a0that a crash involving drivers using cell phones and texting occurs every 24 seconds. \u00a0With these staggering statistics presented before us, you might agree that banning Google Glass while driving is a good idea. \u00a0Google, however, is trying to convince us otherwise.\n\nEssentially, Google Glass is being presented as the “hands free device” for your eyes. \u00a0Likewise,\u00a0Google Glass could be the type of technology that could provide an “enhanced driving” experience which could actually create a safer driving\u00a0environment.\u00a0 \u00a0In fact,\u00a0a Google Glass-powered GPS could put navigation information directly in-front of you. \u00a0That way, you wouldn’t have to look away from the road when you’re getting directions. \u00a0The whole concept behind Google Glass is\u00a0to eliminate the need to look down at your smartphone; something that takes your attention 100% away from what you’re doing.\n\nStill, people like\u00a0Gary G. Howell of West Virginia is determined to stop Google Glass from getting on the road before it’s even released to consumers. \u00a0He’s introduced\u00a0a bill<\/a> that forbid texting-while-driving, as well as prohibiting the use of “a wearable computer with head mounted display.” \u00a0That sounds a lot like Google Glass, now doesn’t it?\n\nOf course the main purpose of this bill is to\u00a0protect young new drivers, but can a 16 year old even afford the $1,500 price tag? \u00a0Before jumping to legal conclusions, shouldn’t there be case studies designed to address this particular question? \u00a0Why does Gary Howell think he can regulate something that hasn’t even been introduced to the public yet?\n<\/em>\n\n