When private pilot Jerry Greenfield first saw a head-up display, it was in a flight simulator.
"You see the flight instruments, you'll see your airspeed," he said.
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Today, a growing number of automakers are building similar displays into vehicles. It is equipment that projects things like speed or navigation onto the windshield or into the driver's field of vision. It's the type of feature Greenfield would like to see in his next car.
"I like the idea of being able to look straight ahead and seeing all the information I need without having to look away from the road," he added.
Ron Montoya, Senior Consumer Advice editor at Edmunds.com has test driven vehicles with the technology built in. He feels these types of displays make a drive safer.
"If you think about it when you look at your speed gauges or your navigation screen you are taking your eyes off the road even if it's only for a brief moment," Montoya explained.
And, some companies are developing displays designed for use in any vehicle. Advertising promotes additional functionality that would allow drivers to do things like receive and respond to text messages, or post to social media - all while keeping their eyes on the road.
"The technology seems promising, and it seems to sort of integrate a couple of smartphone features which we're not really getting from the factory systems," Montoya said.
But Jacob Nelson, the Director of Traffic Safety Advocacy for AAA says while head-up displays with essential driving information do have the potential to make drivers safer behind the wheel, he feels more testing is needed to study the impact they have on driver distraction.
"The color of the font, the size of the font, and the way in which it's projected into the forward driving environment are all factors that can impact what the workload is that a driver might experience," explained Nelson. "We don't want to stifle innovation, but on the other hand we have to be careful about the safety consequences of introducing new technologies into the driving experience."
Another concern is the amount of information that's included in the display.
"The risk though is that if we are projecting information on the windshield or in the forward driving environment that isn't integral to the core task of driving, then we're overloading the driver," Nelson added.
Montya agrees with Nelson and has advice for car buyers considering purchasing a vehicle with a head-up display.
"Test it out for yourself and see if you want to make that decision and get that system," Montoya advised.
Greenfield says the next time he is in the market for a new car, it's a feature he will be looking for.
"If you're going to drive safely, keeping your eyes on the road is obviously the most important thing," he said.
Right now, head-up displays are built into a small number of car models. But, experts point out that often technology appears first in high-end models and as it gains popularity and prices come down, it spreads to more models within a vehicle fleet.
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