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As a user of Google Glass, driving with it is idiotic. It is great when walking or riding the bus/subway. Having anything except critical driving information s

As a user of Google Glass, driving with it is idiotic. It is great when walking or riding the bus/subway. Having anything except critical driving information such as speed presented in a Heads Up Display fashion is a distraction. Especially when going 80mph with other vehicles on the road. Book her!

alexeisadeski3 13y ago
>Having anything except critical driving information such as speed presented in a Heads Up Display fashion is a distraction The HUD is less distracting than the alternatives.
- EpicEng 13y ago
  You seem to be ignoring one alternative; no distractions whatsoever.
  - alexeisadeski3 13y ago
    In what universe are vehicles sold without dash mounted radios and nav systems? Those are dramatically more distracting than a HUD, as they require the user to avert their eyes from the road for use.
  - chc 13y ago
    I was recently shopping for a car, and I will tell you now, I did not see a single one that had a front seat with no displays or controls besides the steering wheel, pedals and speedometer.
    - sliverstorm 13y ago
      It's true, cars have headlight switches, tachometers, gas gauges and electronic mirror controls. The horror. The only devices that can actively command your attention are the gauges & lights in the instrument cluster (which are all important to driving safely) and possibly the screen on your radio. Speaking of which, I hated the old radio on my old car, because it was too bright and had too much activity on the display.
      - chc 13y ago
        > It's true, cars have headlight switches, tachometers, gas gauges and electronic mirror controls. The horror. You forgot climate control, cruise control, a confusing array of wiper settings, CD controls, radio, bluetooth, GPS, fuel efficiency feedback and probably a few others I didn't think of right off the top of my head. The point is not that cars are insanely distracting, but just that Glass is probably not the most distracting thing in your car.
        sliverstorm 13y ago
        Many of these have similar risk cost vs. risk reward tradeoffs. Climate control helps keep you focused (I know I have a hard time focusing on the road when it's 40F in my car) and cruise control helps keep you predictable to other drivers. Bluetooth integration assumes people are going to use their phones either way, and thus handsfree is the safer choice. GPS informs drivers in advance so they don't have to swerve across seven lanes of traffic to make their exit. My point is, what problem does Glass solve that makes it worth the risk?
        alexeisadeski3 13y ago
        If future iterations of Glass are able to incorporate existing dash functions, thus making them safer to access by not having to take one's eyes off the road, then the benefits are obvious.
        sliverstorm 13y ago
        Future iterations of Glass are still exactly that- in the future.
        alexeisadeski3 13y ago
        Doesn't Glass play music and navigate? If so, it already incorporates some of those functions.
- pessimizer 13y ago
  True, but I'm pretty sure that setting up your laptop behind the steering wheel is already illegal.
  - alexeisadeski3 13y ago
    I refer to existing dash mounted radio-nav systems found in virtually every vehicle.
    - pessimizer 13y ago
      Google Glass isn't a radio-nav system any more than it's an Angry Birds control center.
      - aeroevan 13y ago
        But I think one of the main arguments is that using Google Glass for heads-up GPS navigation is safer than looking down at your dash.
- saurik 13y ago
  It isn't a true "HUD": it is a tiny screen sitting next to one eye in the extreme corner of your vision; it requires a massive refocus of your eyeballs to see the screen, and in the process your other eye totally loses its ability to focus on anything at all. If you want to look back at what you are doing, you have to move your eyes, refocus them, and even resynchronize them. The point of a "HUD" is that you can see updated information while continuing to stare straight ahead and focus on your target: Glass is not a HUD.
elwell 13y ago
What about driving directions?
uncoder0 13y ago
Just asked around my office to the other daily glass users. All three of us disagree with you. 1 anecdote vs 3 anecdotes... If only anecdotes proved anything in a debate. I wear it all the time when I drive and I've even traveled at ~95mph for a sustained period of time on the toll road nearby. In addition it is worth mentioning that I rarely look at it while I'm moving.
- oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
  "I wear it all the time when I drive and I've even traveled at ~95mph..." And that's why I don't drive.
  - uncoder0 13y ago
    11% over the speed limit (85mph) is completely average. Trust me, I'd prefer no person be allowed to drive. It is insanely dangerous and most people are really bad at it. I worked on autonomous cars about five years ago and I cannot wait for the technology to be consumer ready.
    - oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
      Yeah, my point was about both the speed and the very concept of being so blasé about how dangerous it might be to get distracted at those kind of speeds. Or pretty much any speed, to be honest. I too cannot wait for autonomous cars; I hope a day will come when I can actually use one without needing a license! Luckily, where I live, public transport is good enough that I would only really benefit from a car a handful of times each year, and I'm happy to forgo that for the benefits - financial, environmental, safety, etc.

alexeisadeski3 13y ago

>Having anything except critical driving information such as speed presented in a Heads Up Display fashion is a distraction The HUD is less distracting than the alternatives.

EpicEng 13y ago
You seem to be ignoring one alternative; no distractions whatsoever.
- alexeisadeski3 13y ago
  In what universe are vehicles sold without dash mounted radios and nav systems? Those are dramatically more distracting than a HUD, as they require the user to avert their eyes from the road for use.
- chc 13y ago
  I was recently shopping for a car, and I will tell you now, I did not see a single one that had a front seat with no displays or controls besides the steering wheel, pedals and speedometer.
  - sliverstorm 13y ago
    It's true, cars have headlight switches, tachometers, gas gauges and electronic mirror controls. The horror. The only devices that can actively command your attention are the gauges & lights in the instrument cluster (which are all important to driving safely) and possibly the screen on your radio. Speaking of which, I hated the old radio on my old car, because it was too bright and had too much activity on the display.
    - chc 13y ago
      > It's true, cars have headlight switches, tachometers, gas gauges and electronic mirror controls. The horror. You forgot climate control, cruise control, a confusing array of wiper settings, CD controls, radio, bluetooth, GPS, fuel efficiency feedback and probably a few others I didn't think of right off the top of my head. The point is not that cars are insanely distracting, but just that Glass is probably not the most distracting thing in your car.
      - sliverstorm 13y ago
        Many of these have similar risk cost vs. risk reward tradeoffs. Climate control helps keep you focused (I know I have a hard time focusing on the road when it's 40F in my car) and cruise control helps keep you predictable to other drivers. Bluetooth integration assumes people are going to use their phones either way, and thus handsfree is the safer choice. GPS informs drivers in advance so they don't have to swerve across seven lanes of traffic to make their exit. My point is, what problem does Glass solve that makes it worth the risk?
        alexeisadeski3 13y ago
        If future iterations of Glass are able to incorporate existing dash functions, thus making them safer to access by not having to take one's eyes off the road, then the benefits are obvious.
        sliverstorm 13y ago
        Future iterations of Glass are still exactly that- in the future.
        alexeisadeski3 13y ago
        Doesn't Glass play music and navigate? If so, it already incorporates some of those functions.
pessimizer 13y ago
True, but I'm pretty sure that setting up your laptop behind the steering wheel is already illegal.
- alexeisadeski3 13y ago
  I refer to existing dash mounted radio-nav systems found in virtually every vehicle.
  - pessimizer 13y ago
    Google Glass isn't a radio-nav system any more than it's an Angry Birds control center.
    - aeroevan 13y ago
      But I think one of the main arguments is that using Google Glass for heads-up GPS navigation is safer than looking down at your dash.
saurik 13y ago
It isn't a true "HUD": it is a tiny screen sitting next to one eye in the extreme corner of your vision; it requires a massive refocus of your eyeballs to see the screen, and in the process your other eye totally loses its ability to focus on anything at all. If you want to look back at what you are doing, you have to move your eyes, refocus them, and even resynchronize them. The point of a "HUD" is that you can see updated information while continuing to stare straight ahead and focus on your target: Glass is not a HUD.

elwell 13y ago

What about driving directions?

uncoder0 13y ago

Just asked around my office to the other daily glass users. All three of us disagree with you. 1 anecdote vs 3 anecdotes... If only anecdotes proved anything in a debate. I wear it all the time when I drive and I've even traveled at ~95mph for a sustained period of time on the toll road nearby. In addition it is worth mentioning that I rarely look at it while I'm moving.

oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
"I wear it all the time when I drive and I've even traveled at ~95mph..." And that's why I don't drive.
- uncoder0 13y ago
  11% over the speed limit (85mph) is completely average. Trust me, I'd prefer no person be allowed to drive. It is insanely dangerous and most people are really bad at it. I worked on autonomous cars about five years ago and I cannot wait for the technology to be consumer ready.
  - oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
    Yeah, my point was about both the speed and the very concept of being so blasé about how dangerous it might be to get distracted at those kind of speeds. Or pretty much any speed, to be honest. I too cannot wait for autonomous cars; I hope a day will come when I can actually use one without needing a license! Luckily, where I live, public transport is good enough that I would only really benefit from a car a handful of times each year, and I'm happy to forgo that for the benefits - financial, environmental, safety, etc.