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US Agency Aims To Regulate Map Aids In Vehicles

Posted by samzenpus on from the the-right-way-to-go dept.

An anonymous reader writes in with news about proposed rules regarding mapping technology used in cars.Many are in favor of rules that prevent texting while driving, but in-car navigation is a murkier legal area — how do you minimize distractions without limiting the ability to get from point A to point B? Like it or not, the US government may settle that debate before long. The proposed Grow America Act would let the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set rules for dash-mounted GPS units, smartphone mapping apps and anything else you'd use for driving directions. While it's not clear what the NHTSA would do with its power, the Department of Transportation's voluntary guidelines ask for limits on eye-catching visuals (think videos) and interaction times; don't be surprised if these enter the rulebooks.

10 of 216 comments (clear)

  1. We want driverless cars TODAY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This will all be wasted time once Google perfects the self driving car.

    1. Re:We want driverless cars TODAY! by darkain · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Much in the same way regulations for fuel efficiency are wasted because we have fully electric cars now....

    2. Re:We want driverless cars TODAY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We already have driverless cars today. Between women putting on make-up, men eating, and teens texting, quite a few cars on the roads today are driverless.

  2. Overreach much? by russotto · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They want to regulate mapping apps on smartphones, including those not installed in vehicles? Seems like more than a bit of a stretch.

    1. Re:Overreach much? by tysonedwards · · Score: 4, Interesting

      They want to have the authority to regulate apps that after release have been linked to "safety related issues" that have an intended purpose of being used primarily while driving on a road. They're not asking to regulate all cell phones, or twitter, or Facebook use while in a car (yet), what they are asking for is the ability to bitch-slap developers after the fact who create apps that are designed for use while driving yet lead to distractions, ergo creating safety issues for those likely using said app while driving, presumably on a highway. To that end, is someone more likely to be using Navigon, Garmin, TomTom, or the multitude of other apps while going for a walk, or when driving somewhere?

      And if they incorporated a "Thank you for using MotionX GPS Lite, before giving your your directions, please watch this YouTube video and answer this quick survey!", should NHTSB or anyone else for that matter have the authority to tell them that that is morally wrong, and potentially unsafe behavior, let alone compel them to take corrective action?

      Their request for oversight over this area doesn't seem like a "major" stretch at this point, but it does set a quite unusual precedent that can be used to expand their powers in the future. And as we all have seen in the past, if Government has the potential to grow, it will do so.

      --
      Thirty four characters live here.
  3. see ya by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So long speed trap alerts in Waze.

  4. Can they start regulating back-seat driving, too? by OSULugan · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd love for them to limit the type and amount of distractions from my wife telling me where to go, too.

  5. WTF by kwiecmmm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So what if someone else in the car is looking at the directions while you are driving? Will their ability to look at directions be significantly hampered?

    It is a good thing that these Congress people don't have any important things to worry about so they can focus on this ridiculous crap.

    In the mean time my car might just drive on an interstate with failing bridges, or into a tunnel with ceiling tiles that could fall at any moment, but focusing on this is obviously the best thing for Congress to do.

  6. Re:What The?!? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 4, Funny

    There should be an exemption to disliking grammar nazis any time someone goes out of their way to emphasize a word, and uses it completely incorrectly.

    (or if your failure at grammar introduces serious ambiguity problems)

  7. Re:What The?!? by Ralph+Wiggam · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The rate of US car fatalities has plummeted 75% over the past 45 years, largely due to government mandates and the NHTSA. The hundreds of thousands of people who are alive today because of those actions probably don't consider it "nonsense".