Shamelessly picking profits over safety, Google and Intel Corporation are pushing computer screens for car dashboards. That’s right: Drivers near you soon will careen into you thanks to such infotainment “progress.”

The computer and Internet industry’s brazen irresponsibility is especially galling given the thousands of Americans who already are killed and maimed by distracted drivers fixated on phones and texts. Add flashy computer screens to the mix and you’ll get far more traffic tragedies.

It’s bad enough that so many Americans eschew common sense and indulge their digital demons by becoming screen-fixated zombies. You see them on roads each day, aimlessly veering through traffic while yakking or texting. You see them on sidewalks, bumping into signs or stumbling off curbs.

Now you’ll see them fiddling with car dashboard URLs instead of focusing on a task that demands full attention: navigating heavy machinery through intricate traffic patterns where an instant’s inattention can mean a lifetime of agony.

Don’t believe it? Then don’t forget the airline pilots who recently overflew their destination when they were distracted by laptop computers. And they were paid to pay attention. Yes, distracted driving can happen to anyone, anywhere.

The sellers of such automotive products already are angling to get themselves off the hook. An Audi system coming this fall will include this notice when activated by a driver: “Please only use the online services when traffic conditions allow you to do so safely.” Problem solved, right?

Well, no. How many drivers will pay for this gadgetry and then disregard it? Yet sharing their irresponsibility are those who are selling these foolish tools despite clear evidence that distracted driving is as bad as drunk driving. Just ask researchers across America — and the U.S. Department of Transportation, which convened a national summit on distracted driving last fall.

We advise resisting the temptation of dashboard computer screens by reminding yourself how well you’ve functioned so far without them. Besides, some things — such as driving — require full attention, while other things — checking restaurant reviews — can wait.

If, sadly, you or a loved one is harmed by a distracted driver, let a car accident lawyer with Jim S. Adler & Associates help you. In an increasingly irresponsible society, legal accountability is a precious commodity which is well worth the fight.

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