Want to Order Food Behind the Wheel?

General Motor’s new in-car application that allows drivers to order coffee and browse for hotels while behind the wheel has been met with outcry from a prominent safety group.

The GM Marketplace app allows drivers to use an in-dash touchscreen to browse deals and place orders for several major brands including: Starbucks; TGI Friday’s; Priceline; and, Dunkin’ Donuts.

This sparked major concerns for the National Safety Council President Deborah Hersman who believes that the app will contribute to distracted driving– a major issue which accounts for a quarter of all vehicle crashes and is tied to the rise of auto fatalities, which grew 5.6 percent in the U.S. last year.

“There’s nothing about this that’s safe,” Hersman said. “If this is why they want Wi-Fi in the car, we’re going to see fatality numbers go up even higher than they are now.”

GM said Tuesday it will launch the app on millions of 2017 and 2018 model year vehicles equipped with Wi-Fi hotspots and compatible systems.

According to GM spokesman Vijay Iyer, the goal of GM’s new service is to provide a simpler, safer alternative to using smartphones to place mobile orders. It’s designed in accordance with voluntary driver-distraction guidelines agreed to by car companies. The apps also have limits to how many steps a user must complete to place an order, typically three to four, he said.

Category: General Update, News, Safety