Google lobbies against proposed ban on Google Glass-aided driving

Google Inc is reportedly lobbying state officials in the US to block the potential ban of headset devices like its Google Glass, a Reuters report said. According to the report eight states in the US are planning to regulate the wearable, which is an eyeglass frame with a tiny computer screen mounted in one corner. Authorities have argued that the devices like Google Glass could cause further road accidents as drivers will most likely pay attention to their email instead of the road ahead of them.

Wearables are the next big shift in technology today after smartphones, and pundits believed that the wearables like Google Glass could create billion-dollar markets. A Google Glass test pair could fetch $1,500 for someone who wishes to use it, Reuters said.

The ban on wearables had increased its chances in getting passed as courts are now considering the serious repercussions of allowing them to be worn during driving. Reuters cited a case in San Diego, of which a case against a woman was dismissed as there was no proof that the Google Glass she was wearing behind the wheel at that time was operating.

Based on lobbying disclosure records and interviews by the news agency added that elected officials in Illinois, Delaware and Missouri are being wooed by Google to ensure that Glass will not be effectively banned for use while driving. Aside from the three states, New York, Maryland and West Virginia had been introduced to the wearable bans by its legislators.

On the other hand, Illinois state Senator Ira Silverstein rejected Google's claim that the proposed legal ban was premature as its product has yet to be produced for commercial use. Silverstein, who introduced the proposed restriction of wearing Google Glass while driving in December last year, said that the lobbyists he encountered who had been campaigning to kill his bill was clearly a strategy of the company to ensure that the product's future marketability.

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Google Glass, Google Glass regulation

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