Interesting $300 pre-order smart device which shows you navigation, incoming messages, tweets, whatever projected in front of you.
You can deal with incoming stuff by using voice commands or gestures. The projection appears to be 6 feet in front of you so you don't need to refocus on traffic.
Safest solution out there and certainly very nifty, but you're still distracted if you start tweeting while driving #tech
It's an improvement over looking down to text, but my guess is that people will then think it's okay to focus more on the little screen than the road in front of them, thereby eliminating the slight safety advantage. Except for navigation and regular dashboard functions, I think this should be outlawed until proven to be statistically safe.
This is like claiming Russian Roulette is made "safer" by adding a few more empty chambers to the gun.
Most of the accidents in the road occur at really low speeds, in traffic jams. Why would that be? Because drivers are bored and distracted.
I get the feeling that most people aren't aware of just how subconscious is their driving skill. I can pretty much drive all the way from work to my home without thinking about it. In fact, I often end up going home when I was meant to go somewhere else because of this!
So, if we are good autopilots, why do we really need to focus on the road? Because… as the saying goes, shit happens. An accident may spring unexpectedly, a pedestrian may be crossing at a corner you weren't expecting, a bicycle may show up in a road section where you've never seen one before. If you relying on your autopilot when these things happen, believe me, things will not end well.
And that's why driving is a lot more serious than most people consider. And why we really should just be using public transportation or autonomous cars.
I have had a head-up display a few years ago in a BMW. It has been the most useful gadget I ever had in a car. As I am driving with glasses that don't do well for the distance of usual instruments, my eyes adapted smoothless to the head-up display. I often miss that in my current car.
It's almost equally distracting from traffic.
+Uwe Raabe I don't have any objection to using a HUD to project the instruments or even navigational prompts. Projecting things that take your attention away from driving (texts, tweets, etc.) is a dangerous distraction no matter the display technology.
Pilots have clear runways… Bad analogy!
+Todd Derr Exactly. People often use the false analogy of talking to your passenger. But you shut up quickly when things become complex. Talking to your mum on speakerphone and texting whilst driving is frankly stupid. Your mum can wait.
+Jack Doheny They also have air traffic controllers and radar that alert them of the location of all aircraft within their vicinity… still cool, though!