Interesting article on the future of the connected car.

The issue of liability and the legality of using devices in cars is one that needs to be reviewed and addressed soon. Currently, manufacturers steer clear of developing too much functionality in the car because increased functionality leads to increased distraction and the potential for accidents.

The reality however is that people are already distracted, it’s just that their phones are what’s causing the distraction, not the car’s systems.  People are dialing, texting, emailing and twittering in the car… even while driving!!

The means of combating this distraction has come in the form of increased laws against using devices while driving.  Yet these laws are rarely enforced and fly in the face of progress we’ve made in communications.  Moreover, I think a better direction to go is to acknowledge that people want to (and need to) communicate from the car and make the car safer through other advancements.

In the near term, Ford, BMW and others should shift their focus away from making these telematic systems (let the tech companies do that) and instead focus on how they can supplement the safety systems of the car and add new ones.  Just as airplanes have gotten safer due to increased technology systems that aid pilots, so too must car manufacturers embrace the same approach.