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highplainsdem

(63,612 posts)
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 11:44 AM 6 hrs ago

Illinois Could Become the First State to Ban Drivers From Wearing Smart Glasses

Source: Gizmodo

A bill in Illinois has been passed and is now awaiting final approval by Gov. JB Pritzker that would make it illegal to use smart glasses while driving, effectively expanding the definition of “electronic device” under the law. If approved, Illinois would be the first state to expressly ban the use of smart glasses while driving. Other states, such as New York, have proposed prohibiting the use of “head-mounted portable electronic devices” while operating a vehicle, but none of those proposals have even reached a House or Senate floor.

-snip-

Fines for violating the law start at $75 and increase to $150 for repeat offenses. Anyone involved in a serious crash while wearing smart glasses could face misdemeanor or felony charges.

On the one hand, the move feels like a no-brainer, since slapping a screen on your eyeballs is the definition of distracted driving. And given the direction some companies that sell smart glasses are headed, a no-brainer law like this could be critical.

Amazon, for example, is actively developing smart glasses that would superimpose navigation onto the eyes of its drivers as they drive. Even the Meta Ray-Ban Display has a navigation feature, and though Meta strongly suggests that you don’t use it in a vehicle, it also doesn’t stop you from doing so.

-snip-



Read more: https://gizmodo.com/illinois-could-become-the-first-state-to-ban-drivers-from-wearing-smart-glasses-2000772999

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eggplant

(4,252 posts)
1. And heads up displays?
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 12:35 PM
5 hrs ago

These exist already and serve the same purposes.

I'm not advocating for the use of smart glasses while driving, or even smart glasses at all. I think they are a terrible idea. But if the problem is the distraction, then ban all of it.

ToxMarz

(3,141 posts)
2. I can see how they can pull you over if your holding a phone in your hand
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 12:46 PM
5 hrs ago

Are they going to pull everyone wearing glasses over and inspect them?

skypilot

(9,149 posts)
11. I hate tinted car windows...
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 03:21 PM
2 hrs ago

...for another reason. As a pedestrian I often need to see the driver when I'm about to cross the street so that I can determine if they see ME. So many drivers pulling onto a cross street will look only in the direction where they expect to see a car coming and will not look in the other direction to see if there is a pedestrian coming. I need to be able to tell if the driver sees me and I can't do that with those damned windows.

Vinca

(54,508 posts)
4. At the same time, new cars have a screen you have to look at in order to operate the car. It's nuts.
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 12:53 PM
4 hrs ago

They ban cellphone use, now smart glasses, but you can run off the road and crash into a tree trying to turn on the windshield wipers.

JustABozoOnThisBus

(24,763 posts)
8. I would like to ask my glasses ...
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 02:47 PM
3 hrs ago

... hey Specs, how do I turn on the windshield wipers? And then the glasses would highlight the control.

I bought an electric car. What I don't know about operating it could fill a book. It has a dazzling array of meaningless controls on the screen.

FakeNoose

(42,862 posts)
13. I bet they'll be showing ads on that screen in a heartbeat
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 05:20 PM
31 min ago

... because they don't make enough money selling their cars already.

reACTIONary

(7,383 posts)
6. This seems to be a form of "heads up" display....
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 02:14 PM
3 hrs ago

A heads up display can reduce distraction because it allows a lot more situational awareness than looking down, for instance, at the speed or gas gauge. Its not a no brainner for me.

Matthew28

(1,919 posts)
7. I wish
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 02:27 PM
3 hrs ago

The war on tech and science would just stop. Let people use glasses to navigate around.

cstanleytech

(28,684 posts)
9. Probably in another twenty or thirty years there will be artificial vision to help those blind or going blind.
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 03:04 PM
2 hrs ago

So will those be banned as well?

Karasu

(2,264 posts)
10. These should be banned PERIOD. Nothing but a gift for stalkers, pedos, and the surveillance state. There are so
Wed Jun 17, 2026, 03:12 PM
2 hrs ago

many negatives to these fucking things (especially with AI being completely fucking unregulated) that it shouldn't even be a conversation.

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