Three US states to ban Google Glass for drivers

JJ Worrall

Illinois, Delaware and Missouri are set to introduce bills to stop drivers from wearing Google Glass headsets while behind the wheel.

While the web giant has deployed lobbyists to each state to try and halt the process, other states - including New York, New Jersey and Wyoming - are set to follow suit.

Google is defending its stance on the basis that any bill would be premature as product development for the Glass project is still ongoing.

In the case of Irish developers currently testing Google Glass under the company's Explorer programme, Lisa Jackson of Leman Solicitors, warned there were "existing traffic laws that would protect against using Google Glass while driving here".

Such actions, said Jackson, fall under legislation covering driving “without due care and attention”.

Conor Faughnan, director of consumer affairs for AA Ireland, said that for most drivers "sheer common sense should tell you that you shouldn't wear this type of device in front of your eyeball and drive at the same time".

He did add though that Google was “right in the sense that the technology is still developing” and added that in time “you could foresee a world where Google Glass is actually a safety addition”.

“It’s conceivable that in the future we’ll all wear versions of Google Glass and there may be a ‘car mode’ that may stream a traffic alert or inform you of a hazard around the corner.”

In January, a California court cleared technology entrepreneur, Cecilia Abadie of a citation she received for using a visual "monitor" while driving after she was caught wearing a Glass headset while also speeding in San Diego.

Abadie was cleared on the Google-related charge as there “no testimony it was operating or in use” while she was behind the wheel.