With new in-car technology come new responsibilities

Not so long ago, a good road atlas was an essential item for any driver heading out on the open road, with savvier motorists making a point of getting their maps out the night before a long journey and planning
their route in advance.

Now, however, things have changed, with tatty old maps and atlases increasingly becoming a thing of the past and replaced by shiny, innovative gadgets.

Of course, for the most part, such devices have been a real blessing for drivers of both new and second-hand cars.

Rather than spending long periods of time poring over the details, the typical satellite navigation system is not only able to plot the easiest or quickest route from A to B in a matter of seconds, but give it a couple of seconds more and it can also come up with the most scenic route or the most fuel-efficient way to go.

What's more, thanks to real-time updates, drivers can be informed of any likely delays to their journey and advised on how best to proceed accordingly, while speeding offences are becoming increasingly hard to
justify as gadgets warn motorists of speed cameras or other traps.

But, while an old atlas could just be thrown onto the back seat and forgotten about, these new devices are slowly coming to dominate dashboards, which, for some, represents a worrying development.

According to the Institute of Advanced Motorists, though most drivers are indeed responsible and can be trusted to keep their eyes on the road, the temptations of new-look satnav systems hooked up to the
internet may prove too strong for some.

Speaking on the back of the news that both Intel and Google are looking into developing their own interactive dashboards, including ten-inch screens above the gearstick capable of displaying not only 3D maps, but also web pages and even digital video content, the organisation's chief examiner Peter Roger warned that, when it comes to keeping road users safe, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.

"If drivers were tempted to use the internet or watch videos on the move, the results could be deadly," he said.

"If it's not acceptable to read a novel while driving, how can it be acceptable to read a multimedia display? Just how much information can a car driver absorb and still drive responsibly?"

Of course, drivers should be trusted to do the sensible thing and to only use in-car devices to look up local restaurants or check in to their Facebook account when they are pulled over and stationary but, given that an irresponsible few could place lives at risk by using them on the move, it seems that, moving forward, the onus will be on the electronics manufacturers themselves to take the initiative and make it so that their gadgets can only be used when a vehicle is at a stand-still.

So, by all means this new technology should be embraced and its benefits enjoyed to the maximum - after all, driving can be stressful enough as it is, so any state-of-the-art assistance is always welcome - but, as
experts point out, drivers need to recognise that with these new advances come new responsibilities which should not be taken lightly.