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NHTSA chief: 'A car is not a mobile device' [Detroit Free Press](Detroit Free Press (MI) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) June 09--The government's top safety regulator warned that he will challenge unsafe infotainment technologies that try to convert automobiles into smartphones on wheels. "I'm just putting everyone on notice. A car is not a mobile device," David Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told about 200 people at the Telematics Detroit 2011 conference in Novi. "I'm not in the business of helping people tweet better. I'm not in the business of helping people post on Facebook better." Strickland and his boss, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, have challenged automakers, suppliers, wireless providers and software developers that minimizing driver distraction must be a priority as drivers are offered more information services in their vehicles. In 2009, the full year for which NHTSA has released data, about 33,000 people died in traffic accidents in the U.S. And 995 of those fatal accidents involved someone using a cell phone while driving. He acknowledged that there are constructive applications that help drivers, their dealers and automakers diagnose mechanical problems and find solutions faster. He also praised navigation systems and automatic notification of emergency responders in the case of accidents as valuable technologies that NHTSA will encourage. But there is a difference, he said, between technology that supports a driver or enhances vehicle safety, and services that simply distract people from driving safely. "It's okay not to be connected when you're operating a car," Strickland said. "I'm not going to dispute that people want these services. They do." In a brief question-and-answer session conference attendees asked Strickland to not lose sight of the work that has been done on technology that allows vehicles to communicate with each other to avoid accidents. One questioner asked him about Google's driverless car that could solve some of the driver distraction problems that regulators are trying to minimize. "I was out at Google's headquarters a few months ago. It is fantastic the amount of work they have done, but it is not fool-proof," Strickland said. "I just don't think the American public is ready for that." ___ To see more of the Detroit Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.freep.com Copyright (c) 2011, Detroit Free Press Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544) |