DVDs and driving increasingly don't mix.
While many states have long banned drivers from watching television in their cars, a growing number are expanding such laws to prohibit drivers from viewing DVD players, laptop screens and other video entertainment. Meanwhile, a number of states that never had driving-and-viewing laws are working on adding them.
Just last month, Illinois passed a law expanding banned front-seat technology from just the television receiver that the law mentioned previously. Oregon and Virginia passed similar legislation this year to update their laws, as have California and Louisiana in recent years. Meanwhile, similar bills are pending in a number of states, including Massachusetts, New York and Vermont.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 32 bills related to viewing mobile entertainment in vehicles were proposed this year in 18 states, including states where there are no existing laws on the subject such as Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii and Mississippi.
The legislative push comes as the off-the-shelf market for mobile entertainment systems is booming, thanks to a mounting selection of products and growing consumer demand.
Unlike the DVD players and screens increasingly offered by car makers, which generally drop down from the ceiling or are mounted on seat backs and are meant for rear-seat entertainment only, off-the-shelf versions can be attached anywhere from the rear to the front of a car. In the front, they fit in the dashboard, on sun visors and on the steering wheel. Some of these products combine DVD players with navigation devices so they are meant specifically for the front section.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 9.81 million households in the U.S. have after-market mobile video units in their cars this year, up from 5.45 million last year.
The new mobile video laws are a response to concerns that the DVD players and other movie-playing devices could distract drivers and potentially cause accidents, especially if the screens are visible to drivers and work when cars are in motion.
The laws also are part of a growing body of legislation seeking to prevent new technology, including cellphones, from distracting drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver distraction is related to about 25% of automobile-related fatalities annually.
After-market manufacturers say their video devices for the front of cars work only when the parking brake is engaged. Pioneer Corp.'s Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., for instance, says it has equipped its latest navigation/video system, which it released earlier this year, with an improved tie to the parking brake and to speed sensors so the video component will work only if the parking brake is engaged and the vehicle is stopped. Audiovox Corp. and Alpine Electronics Inc. also wire their in-dash DVD players to the parking brake.
Installers, however, say they can disable many of these manufacturer checks, especially on older versions. "All you usually do is ground that wire and it works like a charm. Basically, you trick the television to work while you are going," says Jason McNeely, who works in sales at Advanced Car Audio in Gulfport, Miss., and estimates about half the 10 cars he puts televisions and DVD players in weekly have their screens installed upfront. "Pretty much every shop does it."
Legislators say they are being asked by state police to update decades old laws to include new technologies.
"The Illinois State Police brought this bill to me because they had pulled over some people for traffic violations and they were getting off because the law wasn't up to the technology that we currently have," says Illinois Democratic Rep. Maria Antonia Berrios, who introduced the legislation in February.
Illinois's new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, prohibits a person from operating a vehicle if "a television receiver, a video monitor, a television or video screen, or any other similar means of visually displaying a television broadcast or video signal that produces entertainment or business applications" is working and is located forward of the back of the driver's seat or is visible to the driver.
The new state laws and bills generally don't apply to navigation systems or to screens or video monitors used for vehicle information such as those that help with parking.
Penalties range from points toward license suspension or fines. A bill pending in Massachusetts provides a first-offense penalty of not less than $100 and not more than $200 for those caught watching television, movie or video feed when driving.
Write to Jennifer Saranow at jennifer.saranow@wsj.com