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With Ford's THINK Program, Debate Over In-Car Internet Rages

by Amar Toor on January 15, 2010 at 07:30 AM

Although driving-while-texting has nearly dethroned smoking as the hottest no-no du jour, several car manufacturers are pushing forward with plans to introduce a whole new distraction. Get ready for Wi-Fi on your dashboard.

At CES this year, Ford unveiled plans to expand its THINK system in collaboration with Microsoft. The expanded setup would entail having Wi-Fi installed directly into a car, and would be operated entirely on voice activation and hands-free controls. As CBS News tech analyst Larry Magid said on NPR's Talk of the Nation, though, concerns remain over whether or not in-car Web would be safe, especially on highways already clogged with driving texters and cell phone users. Magid points out that Ford will likely implement several safeguard measures, such as enabling video Internet surfing only when the car is parked. Further, Magid described a conversation he'd had with a Ford executive, who insisted that Ford had done diligent safety research to ensure that its new Wi-Fi dashboard wouldn't be a safety hazard.

The issue on everyone's mind, however, is the questionable safety of hands-free surfing. Some critics maintain there's no way that Ford can avoid the pitfall of distracting drivers, even if it's "just" their minds and not their hands, that are preoccupied. Nicholas Ashford, a researcher at M.I.T., goes so far as to claim that Ford's new technology is "even more demanding of higher-level visual and audio functioning" than existing hands-free devices. According to Ashford, such devices already result in "a significant, a four-fold increase in accident potential."

Ultimately, the viability of behind-the-wheel Wi-Fi boils down to a simple question of economics: If Ford and others decide (as they apparently already have) that there's enough consumer demand to warrant this kind of technology, they'll probably push forward with it -- barring, of course, prohibitive legislation. So what does this mean for future freeways? That all depends on where you draw the line between your right to trick out your car, and your social responsibility to consider the safety of your fellow highwaymen. We fear that this new trend might just cross that line. [From: NPR, via: Wi-Fi Net News]

Tags: car, drivingwhiletexting, ford, fordthink, microsoft, safety, top, wifi

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