Ask The Best And Brightest: Will/Should In-Car Connectivity Systems Be Regulated?
February 18th, 2011 2:33 PM
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With GM’s announcement of a new SYNC-competitor system, the issue of whether or not in-car connectivity systems are compatible with the government’s desire to reduce distracted driving has raised its head once again. So we put the question to you, our Best and Brightest: will the government ever step in to regulate in-car electronics? Should it? After all, distraction comes in all shapes and sizes… from fast food to in-car Facebook updates. Can the government draw a line between acceptable distractions and unacceptable ones? Will any government action actually make a difference in the statistics?
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For the first part, I fear the answer is yes - and it will be timed and presented to cause as much uproar as possible while other legislation is quietly rammed through. For the second part, I say absolutely not; I despise laws and regulations designed to protect idiots from themselves. There is no system foolproof enough it cannot be defeated by a sufficiently great fool. The first order of business when driving - is driving. I've often added a minute or 2 to my travel times by simply sitting in a running vehicle until I felt I was in the proper frame of mind to begin my journey. On the few occasions when I am driving a car belonging to someone else, I take time to ensure I know where the important subsystems (lights, turn signal controls, parking/emergency brake, mirror/window controls) are located - and I shut off the radio until I'm more familiar with the system. While the proliferation of new connectivity/information/entertainment systems in modern automobiles can be a distraction, they won't be for those drivers who are serious about learning what their system can do and how to do it, and knowing which parts shouldn't be attempted at all while in command of a motor vehicle.
Of course the Federal government cannot, hence should not. There is absolutely no federal level threats emanating from distracted driving i the first place. It's all local. Expecting a bunch of self appointed progressive yahoos to have even the remotest idea of what potentially useful restrictions would be, is about as silly as it gets. Just let a thousand local approaches be tried, and then residents/voters of each locality can learn from each other. Of course the same goes for at least 90% of what those in that busybody leech colony by the Potomac occupies their, and by force others, time with; so fat chance many over there would ever fall prey to such exquisite demonstrations of common sense and logical reasoning.
Let the carmakers self-regulate on this issue.
They government will HAVE to regulate. I am an auto enthusiast, a road cyclist and a proud conservative. I have seen in the cycling world that drivers rarely are prosecuted when they are at fault in a bicycle - vehicle "interaction"...even when the cyclist is killed (stats show that motorists are responsible for vehicle/bike accidents about half of the time). Since the laws aren't enforced it is better - i believe - to regulate from the Federal level. I can't believe I wrote that...but I did!