CES 2012: High-Tech, Low-Safety Car

At CES 2012, car-maker Kia was one of many firms presenting high-tech automotive equipment and ideas for vehicles of the future.

In this concept car, Kia had built iPad tablets into the seat headrests, developed a system for projecting information onto the windscreen (which seems to be all the rage) and was keen to show off a futuristic dashboard. However, Kia's big new idea was to bring video chat to this prototype vehicle. With the simple press of a button, the driver (yes, the driver!) can launch a video conversation, thanks to a screen on the dashboard and a webcam just above the steering wheel.

With mobile phone use already banned for drivers and hands-free kits under increasing scrutiny, video chat seems like something of a step in the wrong direction for road safety. Plus, imagine if the driver had an accident while chatting ... the person they were talking to would see everything—that's gross! If you can think of any more dangerous ideas for in-car technology than video chat, then we'd love to hear about them in the forum.

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