Diary Of An ADI

And another one bites the dust. Google has dumped Glass as of 2015.

Anyone who is interested in technology will be aware that Google Glass is a wearable computer that doesn’t make you look like a complete prat (unlike those street headphones which are popular at the moment). It comes close, but not quite. They cost around £1,000 and all the tech reviews are going to great lengths to prove that they aren’t a gimmick.

Since they were announced, it has been almost assumed (mainly in the American press) that people would wear them when driving cars – and that this would somehow be perfectly OK. Even the link above glibly talks of the GPS capabilities of the phone they tether to and navigation using Google Maps, without any reference to the fact that 99% of people who need that will be driving. Of course, you have to remember that America is also the place where they still can’t agree in all states that texting while you are driving is dangerous as a result of someone spelling a word wrong in the bill proposing a ban.

But it would appear that the UK has managed to nip that one in the bud even before the glasses are generally available over here (it’s an American story, hence the spelling):

Where the Republicans of West Virginia tread lightly, the Brits may stomp heartily.

The U.K.’s Department for Transport has announced that it is not in favor of tolerating drivers who wear Google’s new glasses.

The Americans (in West Virginia) have tried to get a ban and failed. It is now up for “future” debate – which means it hasn’t a hope in hell of being banned if it isn’t obvious to those people that it should be banned right now. In the UK, though, we’re a little more enlightened and can happily proceed to a ban based on common sense instead of initiating a stupid “debate” on the subject:

A Department of Transport spokesman told the Telegraph: “It is important that drivers give their full attention to the road when they are behind the wheel and do not behave in a way that stops them from observing what is happening on the road.”

He added: “We are aware of the impending rollout of Google Glass and are in discussion with the police to ensure that individuals do not use this technology while driving.”

This is good news – you can read The Telegraph article here. It’s already bad enough the number of people texting whilst driving, wearing headphones in the car (and yes, they DO have to fart about with their iPod when they do this), and fixing their satnav right in the middle of their field of view. The last thing we need is a bunch of wet-nosed new drivers reading and tweeting by voice command with a pair of these wrapped round their heads.

That American article still comes across as slightly mocking of the British stance. It cites users who say it makes them “reach for the phone less” – so would playing the bongos, but that doesn’t mean you should do it when you’re driving. Google doesn’t think wearing them behind the wheel is dangerous (obviously, that would impact sales):

Indeed, at the time of West Virginia’s move, a company spokesman told me: “We actually believe there is tremendous potential (with Glass) to improve safety on our roads and reduce accidents. As always, feedback is welcome.”

This is total bollocks. They are incredibly dangerous and cannot possibly improve safety in any way if they are worn and used while driving. And it comes as another US story tells how a bus driver on his phone drove on to a pavement and killed an 8-month old baby.