CA state laws 2010: video monitors allowed in front seat, out of driver's view

New year, new laws, new low for state
Tally of measures - 700 - is fewest in four decades

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...new-low-state/

Relevant to the driving topic of this newsgroup:

"After years of being banished to back seats, video monitors can now be
installed on the dashboard for front-seat passengers. But the screen must be
placed where the driver can't see it (AB 62)."

My comment on that:

There is absolutely no location on the dashboard where a video monitor can
be installed but the driver cannot see it. I expect that installation of
video monitors in the front seat, where the driver cannot see it but
actually can see it, will likely lead to an increased number of distracted
driver collisions since that is just one more factor that can distract a
driver.

On 2009-12-31, Daniel W. Rouse Jr. > wrote:
> New year, new laws, new low for state
> Tally of measures - 700 - is fewest in four decades
>
> http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...new-low-state/
>
> Relevant to the driving topic of this newsgroup:
>
> "After years of being banished to back seats, video monitors can now be
> installed on the dashboard for front-seat passengers. But the screen must be
> placed where the driver can't see it (AB 62)."
>
> My comment on that:
>
> There is absolutely no location on the dashboard where a video monitor can
> be installed but the driver cannot see it. I expect that installation of
> video monitors in the front seat, where the driver cannot see it but
> actually can see it, will likely lead to an increased number of distracted
> driver collisions since that is just one more factor that can distract a
> driver.

Aftermarket installers have been putting them in the dash for awhile.
I've been behind a number of drivers who clearly weren't paying
attention to find there is a flat screen TV on the dash.

"Daniel W. Rouse Jr." > wrote in
:

>
> There is absolutely no location on the dashboard where a video monitor
> can be installed but the driver cannot see it. I expect that
> installation of video monitors in the front seat, where the driver
> cannot see it but actually can see it, will likely lead to an
> increased number of distracted driver collisions since that is just
> one more factor that can distract a driver.
>
>

That's the idea. The auto industry makes a fortune off car crashes and
bribed the govt into allowing this. If the auto industry had it's way, DUI
would be legal.

On a recent Top Gear episode, they were reviewing a high-end car (of
course) with an interesting view screen - from the driver's viewing
angle, it displays a Sat-Nav screen (which seems to be in almost every
car reviewed by Top Gear, but that's beside the point), but from the
passenger's angle it displays a DVD player screen - on the show, a
camera panned between the 2 views, showing the crossover between a
movie from the passenger angle to the Sat-Nav etc display on the
driver's side. To view the video, the driver would have to lean way
over the center console into the passenger side...which I wouldn't be
surprized if a few drivers did :P