Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Trevor E Browne

Jamison C Schroeder

Jennifer A Senish

Scott J Failla

A vehicle navigation aid (nav-aid) system and method are provided to un-lock nav-aid functions in a moving vehicle. Sensors within the vehicle provide vehicle speed S and whether a person other the driver is present. For S greater than predetermined threshold speed S&#x2267;0, the nav-aid system remains in a locked-out state if a passenger is not present. When a passenger is present, then the system may accept some otherwise locked-out nav-aid requests. A warning and disclaimer message requiring positive acknowledgement thereof is desirable. In a preferred embodiment, the passenger should occupy a front seat and have a weight or size or both exceeding a predetermined (e.g., 'adult') threshold. Desirably, navigation aid access is precluded for S&#x3e;Sunless the occupied seat belts are latched. In a further embodiment, a user access status display indicates which nav-aid functions can be accessed depending on the vehicle status.

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Clinton Township, MI, United States of America

Trevor E Browne