Don't Glass and drive — lawmakers seek to ban Google Glass on the road
lawmakers seek to ban Google Glass on the road — West Virginia lawmakers are already pouncing on the existence of Google Glass and introducing a bill that would prohibit drivers from making a spectacle of themselves. — Dabbling in politics can bring troubling consequences.
Context & Ripple Effects
Google Glass is encountering restrictions before it reaches ordinary public use: a Seattle bar had already barred the device from its premises, framing it as a venue-management issue. The West Virginia proposal moves that concern into traffic law, where wearable displays can be treated as a driver-distraction question rather than merely an etiquette dispute.
First-order effects
- West Virginia drivers using Google Glass would face a proposed prohibition, placing the device alongside other conduct lawmakers regard as incompatible with driving.
- Google must contend with an early legal objection to Glass centered on road use, not only acceptance in private venues.
Second-order effects
- Other state lawmakers and traffic regulators gain a concrete model for addressing head-mounted displays, increasing the chance that Glass use is assessed jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
- Google Glass users and sellers would have to distinguish permitted everyday use from potentially restricted in-car use, complicating the device's public-facing rollout.
Third-order effects
- Wearable computing is entering public life through rules written for distraction and safety, giving lawmakers and venue operators an early role in defining where always-available displays are acceptable.
The trend: Google Glass is becoming an early test of whether wearable displays are governed through existing public-safety and access rules rather than device-specific norms.