Keller: As automakers show off future tech, is safety taking a backseat?
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON - At the year's biggest tech event, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, car companies showed how dashboards, skylights and even windshields can transform into a digital playground.
What carmakers can do now is impressive. But is safety taking a backseat?
It might look like the IMAX laser show, but it's actually the inside of your future car, soon to be transformed into a high-tech movie theater. And just picture yourself chillaxing in a car equipped with "Smart Cockpit," much more interesting than watching the road, right? Hey - was that a sting ray that just swam by?
Good luck keeping your eyes on the road.
It's all about giving the consumer "something that gets you behind the steering wheel of your new BMW," explains Frank Weber, chief development officer at BMW AG. "Something that truly immerses you."
Experts concerned about safety
To which Mark Schieldrop, spokesman for AAA Northeast, says: "I have some concerns about the concept of being 'immersed' in the interior of your vehicle. If you take your eyes off the road for five seconds while you're driving 55 mph that's the equivalent of driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed."
The folks at AAA have been sounding the alarm about distracted driving for years. But the video screen craze consuming the auto industry leaves safety concerns at the curb.
"Driving shouldn't really be an escape," says Schieldrop. "It shouldn't be a place for you to decompress, save that for when you get home. Driving - you should be a little on edge because your life is in your hands."
Zero regulation
Clifford Atiyeh, president of the New England Motor Sports Association, calls the new video flourishes "pretty gimmicky. It's a lot of tech companies and automakers showing what they can do."
And while federal agencies have long warned about the danger of flashy distractions in your car, he notes there isn't much they can actually do about it. "In terms of how any of the displays work, anything like that, there's absolutely zero regulation on any of that," Atiyeh said.
It should be noted that some of the new technology like automatic collision braking and cameras that eliminate blind spots are good protection for drivers. But if consumers don't question how much of their safety is being sacrificed for flashy tech gimmickry, who else will?
And with distracted driving as the number one cause of car crashes, you wonder when folks will make the connection between high-flying technology in their cars and their sky-high auto insurance bills.
