D.I.G; Your offense, Driving with Intent to Game

[quietchat]

http://gawker.com/5318122/nyt-to-ame...xing-goddamnit

http://kotaku.com/5317917/new-york-o...drivers-anyway

Just recently I was making a thread about the topic of trying to impose laws limits and fines against retailers developers or consumers. Now, we come with a law that likely WON'T be taken to the courts over.

In New York, a law has been made, specifically stating that you will recieve a fine if you play videogames while driving a vehicle. The two links above say that this is probably a way to deal with texting and phoning while driving, but only gaming is specifically mentioned. The links do say however that the fines are only secondary offenses, so you have to be pulled over for somthing else before you can be fined.


Now, let's look at it first from a lawful standpoint. This law targets gaming, but there are other things that can also be distracting and potentially cause a problem. Talking on a cell phone has been proven to be enough of a distraction to deter your ability to drive. Texting has now become an issue. Playing with your ipod, whatever. There are other things that could cause issue, but they aren't listed with a law against them. Chances are is that this law will be repealed until it includes stronger fines and includes more than just gaming.


Now, let's look at it from a gaming standpoint. There are cars with t.v.'s in them, but I don't think you can plug a 360 and play away. That throws out the possability of playing with a console (Most cars only have the t.v.'s visable by the back seaters anyway). So, this law obviously means for handheld gaming.

Let's look at all the major handheld systems: Game and Watch, Gameboy, the Lynx, whatever Sega's handheld was called, the N-Gage, the PSP line, and the DS line. All of these are two handed handhelds. That means that with the exception of a game and watch 1 button/d-pad control scheme or tetris on another handheld, there's no way you can play AND drive at the same time and do either well. You might mention however cellphone games, with a number of titles to download that only require your thumb, but it's more likely to be assumed your phoning with it.

And that brings up the last point: Compairing it with a cell phone. Cell phones are getting smaller and smaller, while the standards in handheld portable gaming are getting bigger. If you try to hold it up to your face, it gets harder to see the road. If you hold it down near the steering wheel, you'll probably smack it around your car pretty good.


So, essentially, we have a law where any half-way sane person or someone that cared for their electronics would be smart enough to consider how hard it would be to played Twisted Metal while doing 60 on the highway without getting the two confused.

Basically, I think this law is needless over a concern that hasn't happened yet. What's your take though?

[SmokedBoo]

The government will never cease to amaze me. It is a very stupid law if I must say. People (even government officials) are prone to text and chat on the cell phones while on the road. Video games require a lot of attention and hand-eye coordination. Something a driver lacks with the steering wheel in hand. Also, not everyone has a video game on their cellphone, let a lone a cell phone that plays games. The games that you can have on phones are limited, not to mention the phones in which you can play said games is limited. It's almost like they're racist or something against games.

[Sun Tzu]

Video games aren't under assault here, government is just responding to an event that caused a public outcry.

For example, In Alaska it is illegal to push a live moose out of an airplane, or in Ohio it is illegal to get a fish drunk, or in Hartford New England it is illegal to cross a street on your hands. The only reason these are laws is because someone actually did it, and was caught doing it.

They aren't targeting video games, somebody was just stupid enough to cause an accident while playing tetris, simple as that.

[Koopaking]

They were anticipating my patented new device, which is a helmet you can put on while driving called the Virtual Auto Device. This helmet has a visor which superimposes holographic images over real objects while driving, and responds to actions in real time to create a real-life video game. If you successfully stop at a stop sign or follow other laws, you get points, which can be cashed in to apply new skins to the environment, to make it appear as if you are driving in a fantasy land and all the other cars are spaceships and you can shoot lasers synched up to the music on your radio.

Looks like I wasted that patent money.

[SmokedBoo]

Well, this law is only in New York so you're safe for the time being, Koops.