Cars ware the ultimate symbol of freedom, but today’s drivers would gladly give up freedom for ease and convenience. Automotive features with catchy names like intelligent speed assist, hands-free steering and lane-departure prevention sound cool, but the technology makes for worse drivers. Just think what’ll happen when snow covers a sensor and those electronic nannies don’t work,
Will the driver still remember how to drive? Or just panic.
If a driver needs a button on their steering wheel just to go straight in their lane, maybe they should strongly consider a bus pass instead of a new Nissan.
A lot of people go through life doing things badly. Driving is important to men and women who do it well. And the notion that automated systems can out-perform a human behind the wheel is a lie.
Here’s a true story: a couple years back I was headed home from the race track, driving along a dirt road that intersected with a paved street. I stopped and prepared to make the left and noticed a big rig heading towards me in the northbound lanes. It was ½ km away, so plenty of time to make the turn to the southbound lanes.
I pushed the gas pedal and lurched forward into the live lane, but the electronic stability control on my car “decided” that the minor spin-up of my tires on the loose dirt was unacceptable, and it cut fuel to the engine to prevent further spinning. It stopped me halfway into the live lane with a truck headed towards my driver’s side door. I floored it, but my car would not move; just a red ESC light blinking on my dashboard indicating the electronics were “helping” me.
Automotive automation does not have the intelligence to determine if kicking up some dirt was worse than being dead-stick in the middle of the road, but I certainly do. I pushed the ESC button on the dashboard, threw the transmission in reverse, and quickly backed away to safety as the big rig blared its horn at me.
So, what would I change about modern society? Less dependence on automated, computerized systems making life or death decisions for us and a return to taking responsibility and controlling our own lives.
~ Chris #16 Demaras ~
