To any freedom-loving gearhead, the notion of the self-driving car goes against everything they believe in. Driving is a pleasure, and those who take driving seriously acknowledge it’s a major responsibility. The idea letting anyone but Jesus take the wheel is just… wrong.
This past July, regulations in Europe mandated all new vehicles be equipped with speed governors. If a driver exceeds the posted speed limit by 10 km/h, an alert similar to a seat belt chime sounds. Excessive speed is a factor in many vehicular accidents, therefore limiting speed should reduce the problem of high-speed collisions.
But the Europeans are just a toothless tigers. The EU didn’t force vehicle manufacturers to build cars that simply cannot reach obscene speeds. New laws did not require a fuel cut-off to slow cars down. All they did was add in another bell and whistle. And the most ridiculous part is that the system can be de-activated by the driver at start-up; just push a button.
California legislators have promised to implement the same rules in the Golden State starting in 2030. In previous years, the public fought against safety improvements like seatbelts, but time has shown how seatbelt use can save lives. However, these so-called ‘Intelligent Speed Assistants’ will just make noise, not save lives. There’s even a provision within California’s bill SB 961 which ensures that drivers can fully disable the system. Talk about a waste of time, money and effort!
This is just a sad comment on society that an initiative designed to improve road safety has become so watered-down that it’s nothing more than bells and whistles that will simply annoy drivers into de-activating the system. This won’t deter anyone from speeding.
The solutions to the problem of excessive speeding are so simple. Tougher standards for getting a driver’s license are the starting point. Enforcement of traffic laws to identify problem drivers and get them off the road. Changes to road designs in dense urban areas to decrease speeds. Driving is complex, and not everyone over 16 deserves a license. For those who cannot handle the task of driving, and would rather zone-out while being spoon-fed social media posts on their phone, the bus pass has already been invented.
Greg said the rental car (Kia something) has a self-driving feature but instructed you to keep your hands on the wheel while using it. Talk about a bell *and* a whistle. No thanks. No thanks to self-driving, period. If I don’t want to drive, like you said, take the bus, or call an uber. Like we need the ability to be even more distracted as drivers.
I like to drive because it puts me in control of how fast or slow, where to go, when to be a good guy and let others merge, etc. Why would I want to give that up? Driving is fun! There are taxicabs, busses and trains for those who don’t want to drive. But the DANGER with this pseudo-self driving thing that Greg found in that Kia is that when the system fails (snow on a sensor) you’ll be expected to abruptly take control. Good luck coming out of your ‘daze’ quickly enough to avert a problem.
.
https://demaras.com/2024/07/22/too-much-automation-in-automobiles/
.
There was a commercial a while back that showed this new tech on a vehicle that would help drivers go STRAIGHT. Can you imagine being such a bad driver that going straight is something you need help with?!
Greg is a curious man so he said he tried the self-drive thing for about 20 seconds which was quite long enough.
And how was it? Scary? Unnerving?
.
I once drove an Audi A4 with this automatic cruise control thingy. It would drive at 110 km/h (for example) and maintain speed until a reaching a slower car in front. Then it would match that car’s speed. It had three buttons so you could decide between wide berth, safe distance, or tailgating.
.
I wonder what Greg though of the car, especially if he drove it in the snow.
Greg says the self-driving feature was way different from the tv commercials where the people are hands-free zipping down the road since the car sternly insists you keep your hands on the wheel. Also he really likes driving and thought the feature was pretty much purposeless. Car was returned before the snowmageddon began.
I like the radar cruise control in my corolla. It doesn’t give the choices you mentioned in the audio but it’s nice to be reminded to leave space when the car ahead is going slowly. I don’t use it all the time but especially today getting back out on the newly cleared roads, I liked having it on
I really wonder what auto-pilot does in the snow. One of the criticisms I’ve always heard is the difficulty with blowing snow (i.e. moving semi-solid objects).
That’s a great question.
My sister-in-law is trying to get her 93-year-old parents to buy a Tesla for its self-driving feature. The Tesla dealer let them take a car out for a few hours. You have to keep your hands on the wheel for self-driving. If you take them off, it turns off self-driving. You have to stop the car, turn it off, let it sit for a minute, and then restart to get self-driving back on. I assume keeping the driver’s hands on the wheel came into effect after people pulled various shanigans in self-driving Teslas when hands on the wheel were not required.
Jeepers, I remember seeing videos of people sleeping behind the wheel of those self-driving cars a couple years back.
.
The idea behind the ‘hands on the wheel’ thing is that WHEN the system fails and reverts back to you driving (like snow, a leaf over a sensor, entering a construction site) your hands on the wheel assume that you were paying attention. Imagine how long it would take folks in their 90s to get ‘up to speed’ when the car insists they take the wheel.
.
I’m not certain the technology is at that point yet.