| Plans for Zoom, TikTok in cars raise safety questions |
For businesses, Zoom rapidly became the blessing and the bane of the pandemic as companies pivoted to conducting hours of daily meetings virtually. It kept operations going, but there was no escape.
Automakers noticed, and now they are bringing the office into the car by making Zoom available on dashboard screens.
Both Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Group are now integrating third-party video apps including Zoom and TikTok into their vehicle infotainment systems but with safety precautions that the automakers say will prevent distracted driving.
"There is a demand from our customers that they would like to use conferencing tools" in the car, said Alexander Schoenhals, a Mercedes-Benz engineer who worked on the third-party app integrations.
German brands are scrambling to compete with U.S. luxury leader Tesla, which announced in December that an over-the-air software update would add Zoom conferencing using a camera and microphone in the car.
Safety advocates are questioning the logic behind these integrations.
With traffic fatalities at a 16-year high, they are concerned that putting these types of apps in cars sends the wrong message about driver distraction.
— Molly Boigon
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