In South Africa, just like every other part of the globe, the issue of driving your car whilst watching a DVD on a LCD movie player is being wrestled with. Right now, technology plus driver/manufacturer innovation, has outstripped the slow grinding wheels of justice. Problems range from the former situation, to where in some areas, drivers have become an impromptu projectionist of sorts, showing movies with sexually graphic images that can be viewed easily by folks in other nearby vehicles. This is possible because the movie screen was located on a less than discretely arranged passenger seat visor. This can be offending to other drivers and/or their passengers, or at least create a temporary distraction, depending on the scene. Just think, until now we thought cell phones were a problem!
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This follows a recent article in a Durban newspaper, stating that motorists face a risk of having their cars impounded if they have in-car DVD systems. 'There is no law that says a motorist with a built-in DVD system could have his or her car impounded, but should the driver be involved in an accident due to the result of watching a DVD screen while driving, he can be charged with reckless driving in a court of law," says John Schnell, head of KZN Road Traffic Inspection. |
It is rather interesting that the human mind can multi-task in one type situation, and not in another very similar one. For instance, it seems no problem for a motorist to navigate the city streets at legal speeds while chatting away with a passenger, we seem to do a fine job of avoiding a collision with another car, pedestrian or light pole. Contrast that, against the blank stares on the faces of drivers as they sail mindlessly through busy city intersections, chatting away on the cellphone seemingly oblivious to their surroundings.
In light of this, we have to wonder how safe it can be to be tooling through town, in the control a 3500 pound missle, while we have a DVD of "Seabiscuit" playing on the dashboard. What do you think? Should we see some laws written to stop this practice? Here is another thing to consider, just how safe are these handy LCD GPS screens, that help us navigate to the nearest ATM? You can't stick them on the back of a driver seat headrest! This might be tough to consider if companies begin to lobby, where do we draw the line?
Source: TWeb
