Constance Warner wrote:
Great essay! I'd be in favor of ticketing drivers who mount GPS units
and other such devices on their windshields, and I hope it soon
becomes similarly illegal to mount laptop support brackets inside
cars--a truly terrifying prospect.
This is another black or white debate -- meaning that either all
electronic devices such as GPS units or cell phones should be banned, or
there should be no laws regarding their use in cars. Neither situation
is helpful.
First, there has not been a recognition in this debate that using the
devices, particularly the GPS unit, improves driving safety. Who has
not been driving behind an individual who is seeking a house or business
address and weaving from side to side on the road, especially at night,
to spy a posted address? Or seen drivers make U-turns in the road
because they are lost? If they had a GPS unit, they would drive more
safely. One anecdote: my grandfather-in-law drove from his home in
Connecticut to my home. On the Capital Beltway he became lost and
confused with our written directions and simply stopped in his lane of
the Beltway during rush hour and awaited for someone to come to his
aid. Naturally a large backup happened, but the highway patrolman who
eventually came directed him to the right exit. Had he possessed a GPS,
he would have not stopped and created a dangerous situation.
Since the GPS device is a useful tool, some safe way must be found for
it to be accommodated in a car. I would prefer that it be mounted on
the dashboard either underneath the rear-view mirror or on the left side
of the steering wheel. But most GPS units, including mine, are intended
to be mounted on the windshield and can't be mounted on the dashboard
because of its texture. I hope that future cars will provide a place to
adhere a GPS unit to the dashboard as well as provide an electrical
outlet there to avoid a long hanging wire.
In my opinion, these units are here to stay so claiming that they are
illegal and therefore must be banned is narrow-minded. Let us engineer
better solutions, not ban all improvements.
If drivers who mount GPS units on their windshields are ticketed as Ms.
Warner recommends, very soon there will be a change in the law which
permits windshield mounting.
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