[HoarseMann]

Is there any law that prevents you driving whilst wearing a VR/AR headset? The UK law states you cannot use a handheld device, but if it’s strapped to your head is it ok?

The recent https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/ has me fearful for the future on a number of fronts, but a potential loophole for wealthy drivers with a social media addiction is of the most immediate concern.

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[brooksby]

Just saying…

Just saying…

[chrisonabike]

But for safety they’d need to

But for safety they’d need to replace your eyes entirely.  To get a view using the goggles you need your eyes.  However from today’s sad reports it seems that some people just aren’t using their eyes.  Or even actively ignoring information that has got as far as their brains.

I’m sure you could make an enhanced reality system which would help make driving safer for you AND others.  But like most things for sale the current crop of “devices in vehicles” are obviously sold as assistance to those who pay for them e.g. inside the vehicles.  Outside (non-customers) – not so much.

Sat-nav helps people navigate confidently (but sometimes erroneously).  Anything else is essentially distraction – from the perspective of those outside the vehicle.

Maybe these new things for sale will be different.  We’ll see…

[HoarseMann]

Trouble is, that would need

Trouble is, that would need proving in court. That same law would also apply to using a mobile phone, but clearly it wasn’t enough as we’ve got the additional laws about using mobile phones.

Common sense says it’s not appropriate, but if these AR goggles are really good, then it might be perfectly possible to be in proper control with a full view of the road ahead. In fact, it might be possible that AR goggles give you a better view, maybe overlaying night vision or infrared etc. But they could also obscure your view and as it stands, it would be difficult to prove as it wouldn’t be obvious to a bystander that you had a whatsapp conversation app window covering half the windscreen!

I hope Apple have baked in a safety feature that detects if you are driving and disables them (well, apart from passing-thru the visuals!).

[mark1a]

The Construction and Use

The Construction and Use regulations are a catch all for most things not covered by a specific offence. 

This should cover it:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/104/made

[Author]

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