A movie behind the wheel
There are a lot of laws around what can and cannot be done behind a wheel, and there are many individuals who try to bend the rules here a little too whilst using their phone behind the wheel, having a snack, or doing a bit of paperwork. With modern cars, particularly electric vehicles, the larger screen that makes up the infotainment system does offer new options too – players looking to play their favorite games with the same bonuses can enter the Pinnacle promo code for the same bonus directly from their car screen for example, or in the latest changing trend, may even have the possibility of watching a movie directly on their car entertainment system with a changing law coming to the UK.
There are some caveats that will come with this change, however, and it won’t simply be the case of putting a movie on screen whilst doing seventy down the highway. Those hoping to do so will have to wait until self-driving cars are on the roads in the UK – self-driving is available in countries like the US, but it is still very limited on UK roads and likely not the safest to use for an extended period of time, but technology is changing very quickly so it may not be all that long until it does make an entrance.
Once the change has been made, the rules announced suggest that watching a TV show or a movie whilst self-driving is active won’t be an issue – in order to do so, the car will need to be driving by itself and the driver must be ready to take back control of the vehicle at any moment too, and they’ll also only be able to watch through the infotainment system and can’t use an external device to do so with a statement also being made that mobile phone use will remain strictly prohibited whilst driving.
Something to be considered with this potential change, however, is within the safety features built directly into the cars themselves – if the car senses that the driver hasn’t taken control of the wheel in sometime it will remind them to do so with an audible warning or something more deliberate with a physical move of the wheel too, it also wouldn’t be surprising to see car manufacturers disable apps like Netflix or Disney whilst the car is in motion too, despite it being legal to use.
It's certainly an interesting change that will come with mixed feedback – mostly for those who will be confused at mobile use remaining prohibited whilst the ability to view a movie isn’t, but as the identified self-driving cars could be available in the UK as soon as the end of this year, a more clear picture will soon be available as to exactly how the manufacturers will handle this different law, and how the UKs Department for Transport will adjust over time when questions of safety are raised during the initial rollout.
