Move over GPS and navigation systems, “infotainment systems” for the car have arrived. Car industries plan to incorporate the Internet, which will be located on the front dash-boards, into cars such as Audi, Jaguar, and Ford this year. Car and tech industries claim that this is what consumers want, especially business men and women. This is good news for these industries, as consumer demand surely means profit for the industries.
This seems ideal, so what’s not to love? All of this comes at a huge non-monetary price—safety and human life. With as big as 10-inch screens that show high-definition videos, 3-D maps and access to web pages, the new “infotainment systems” will certainly provide distractions to drivers that could prove to be as catastrophic as cellphone use and texting while driving; it could even be worse. A study at Harvard for the year 2003 showed that drivers talking on cell phones caused death in 2,600 accidents and injuries in 570,000. A counterargument to safety concerns, pushed by executives of car industries, contends that the Internet will not work while the car is in motion and that drivers will only be able to control the temperature in the car, the radio and a navigation device while in motion. There will even be a warning not to operate the Internet while driving. It is not clear whether the above mentioned will be the case for all car types. Despite this, Audi suggests the responsibility will rest on the shoulders of the driver not to get distracted and for limiting their use. Try telling this to a 16 year old!
The new “infotainment systems” are nothing short of excessive, costly and dangerous.
The Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, has recently spoken out against texting while driving and has acknowledged that this new wave of Internet technology in the car is not the direction we need to be moving. His concerns are legitimate and should have been considered before the technology and car industries decided to wed with the Internet in the car. Perhaps the government should ban the use of the “infotainment systems” while driving just as they have done recently for cell phone usage and texting while driving. There are too many distractions for drivers as it is. Imagine a young driver reaching across to the passenger seat for a CD, running off the road, over-correcting and flipping the car multiple times resulting in ejection from the car and ultimate death. Or imagine an adult running late for a meeting and texting the other party and while doing so, rear-ending the car in front at a stop light. The possibilities for error and accidents are endless, and as Audi has suggested, there is a great deal of responsibility on the part of the driver to follow the laws and ensure that he or she is paying attention to the road and his or her surroundings. It is irresponsible however, to assume that drivers are cautious and to give them this extra distraction.
The concept of the Internet in automobiles may seem “cool” but it is not. The drivers who demand this in their car likely have iPhones or smartphones with which they can access the Internet. The new “infotainment systems” are nothing short of excessive, costly and dangerous. We need to protect the roads and the safety of drivers and passengers. This new Internet wave unnecessarily puts all of these in peril.
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