Trial examines role of dashboard electronics
Alaska DVD-murder case may be first of its kind
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 Posted: 12:00 PM EDT (1600 GMT)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- When a pickup truck crossed the double yellow line along Seward Highway and killed two occupants of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, police initially thought the accident was another tragic mistake by a momentarily distracted driver.

Then they spotted the dashboard DVD player.

In what may be the first trial of its kind in the nation, prosecutors have accused the pickup truck's driver of second-degree murder for watching a movie instead of the road when he crashed head-on into the Jeep.

The pickup's driver, Erwin J. Petterson Jr., denies using the DVD player as he drove north on October 12, 2002 and contends he was only listening to music from a compact disc, said his attorney, Chuck Robinson.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/07/27/dv....ap/index.html

 

next they will blame navigation systems for distracting drivers.

idiots.

 

well, its the same thing that when they started to blame cell phones on peoples carelessness. All over Florida there are billboards saying "hang up and drive." One bad apple ruins it for the rest.

 

While, of course, this does not apply to everyone, there's a lot of truth to cellphone use leading to accidents. One of my close friends has been rear-ended twice in the last two years...both times at intersections by people behind him yakking on these things.
A number of jurisdictions...both here and in Europe....have decided there are enough bad apples in the bunch to justify outlawing it altogether.....in some cases exempting hands-off phones.
Back to the DVD story on the thread here...some cars have the front-seat DVD screens programmed so that they cannot operate unless the car is stopped and the transmission in PARK.

 

It makes sense to make this a legal requirement.

 

mmarshall and SexySC - I agree with you both. My brother was rear-ended by a woman that was leaning completely over under her dashboard trying to recover a dropped cell-phone. The damage to his irreplaceable 1971 Firebird was fairly extensive. This kind of thing happens all the time and I'd venture to say that the "bad apples" far outnumber the responsible individuals using cellphones.

As for the dash-mounted displays for DVD video - I wouldn't be surprised if we begin to see state legislation on the topic. The more entertainment systems going in (due to increased affordability, popularity, etc) the more we are bound to notice the impact that they have on driver awareness and preparedness for emergency situations which lead to accidents.

 

My grandma was rear ended in her 90' Maxda 626 by a woman in a SUV with a cell phone. The woman thought the conversation was more important than giving over her info. After 10 minutes of waiting she gave up the conversation.

 

Wow, I can't believe your grandma has the patience to wait that long. I would have called the cops within a minute if she didn't stop yapping.

 

My grandma does not speak english . She gve the woman the adress to our mechanic and both of them drove there. He got all the info.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by whipimpin

[B]As for the dash-mounted displays for DVD video - I wouldn't be surprised if we begin to see state legislation on the topic.

It is more likely at the Federal level....Usually safety-related stuff like this is regulated by NHTSA ( National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ) and DOT ( Department of Transportation ).
Emissions can be regulated at both the Federal ( EPA ) and State levels....as in the California Air Resources Board.