Google Glass isn’t even widely available yet, and we’re already having lengthy, and sometimes insane, conversations about etiquette. One area that will also need to be addressed is the law, especially since a woman was just ticketed from driving while wearing Google Glass.
Cecilia Abadie was the driver in question. And needless to say, she’s both upset and confused:
A cop just stopped me and gave me a ticket for wearing Google Glass while driving! The exact line says: Driving with Monitor visible to Driver (Google Glass). Is Google Glass illegal while driving or is this cop wrong???
This actually is a good question. Phandroid did some digging and found that it may violate a California law, but it’s not terribly clear as to why. That said, if you are driving with Google Glass on your face, you are basically a traffic accident statistic waiting to happen.
There are two problems with having a computer socketed in your eye while driving. The first is that your eyes can’t multitask; if you’re looking from one point to another, you’re constantly switching focus. There’s something of the same problem with a Garmin, but the difference is that the Garmin can’t fall off your face and isn’t socketed right in your eye.
Secondly, it’s generally held that distracted driving kills more people than getting behind the wheel tanked out of your gourd. It doesn’t matter if it’s a phone socketed in your ear, a screen on your dash, or a screen in your eye; multitasking is a myth. You’re just alternating tasks and doing a crappier job at both than if you just focused on one. This is why even Mercedes’ tacky “city navigation” system uses an in-dash system while you’re driving.
Abadie may or may not have been breaking the law; that’s up to the courts, and honestly, she probably should have been warned, not ticketed. But either way, Glass Explorers, remember that it’s not just about your safety… it’s about everyone else’s too.