Electronic driving aids - love, hate or indifferent?

[SpokeyDokey]

Some cars (more each year due to the trickle down of technology from higher end cars) are now heavily laden with technology.

In the main I am very much in the 'love' camp.

No one is immune from making mistakes when driving and there is always the possibility of incidents occuring outside of your control - and technology can assist in negative situations.

So, a big thumbs up from me.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Hate them with a passion.

I've had to scrap an elderly Polo because the ABS unit packed up (MoT fail) and along with a few other issues that would have otherwise been affordable that was that.

I have my own ABS built into my right foot so I don't need it in a car. I know how to steer so I don't need some expensive piece of garbage to stop me accidently changing lanes, neither do I need something to apply the brakes when I get too close to the car in front because I make sure I don't get not too close to the car in front.

And I have never in my life pulled a handbrake lever and thought, "I wish someone would invent a three thousand quid device that would operate the handbrake at the touch of a button".

All these things are a substitute for driving skills and make people lazy and careless, relying on the car's safety systems to compensate for their poor driving.

 

[slowmotion]

No one is immune from making mistakes when driving and there is always the possibility of incidents occuring outside of your control - and technology can assist in negative situations.

Are software engineers immune from making mistakes? I think I would prefer to be in charge of my own safety rather than delegate it to a spotty geek in Silicon Valley.

Yours grumpily,

slowmotion

 

[cougie uk]

Hate them with a passion.



And I have never in my life pulled a handbrake lever and thought, "I wish someone would invent a three thousand quid device that would operate the handbrake at the touch of a button".

Do the electric handbrakes still have cables ? I've seen two cars rolling into traffic because the cable slipped or broke ? I've no idea if that's an improvement or not ?

 

[Ridgeway]

Not liking tech that makes driving safer is like saying you’d be happy to drive with bald tyres and worn out brakes, they are also tech after all.

 

[slowmotion]

Not liking tech that makes driving safer is like saying you’d be happy to drive with bald tyres and worn out brakes, they are also tech after all.

Boeing 737 Max?

 

[cougie uk]

I like tech - and there are a LOT of awful drivers out there. I would rather have a few aids on their cars than not have them.

 

[Jenkins]

Quite happy to keep safety aids such as ABS, but would like to see 'lazy' driving aids such as lane keep assist and auto high beam headlights removed from all cars.

Once you've engaged the lane keep, adaptive cruise control, etc what are you thinking about while in the car, as it's certainly not driving and what's happening around you.

 

[Profpointy]

ABS yes, but rest of it? Maybe somewhere between meh, and hell no depending on what it is.

I've heard that superficially sensible things like tyre pressure sensors can be an MOT failure if they go wrong - and it can be extremely pricey or even impossible to fix them. I know a lot of people whose complex auto or flappy paddle gearboxes have gone wrong which led to relatively new cars (by my standards) being scrapped. Electronic handbrake ? Just why?

Give me decent brakes, nice to drive with predictable handling, good roadholding is a bonus, though less important than predictable, since you can't see round corners in the finest handling Porsche. and you can stick the rest

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Here's a scenario:

My current car in a bad accident will:

Apply brakes faster and harder than a human can and avoid lock up far better.

Pretension the seatbelts and take up any slack in microseconds.

Close any open windows - limbs fare better inside a car in an accident.

Release and door locks that may be engaged.

Will fire off front, side and curtain airbags as required.

Will apply the handbrake when the car eventually comes to a stop - moving cars post main accident can be a real problem.

If I am unconscious it will alert emergency services and at the same time give map coordinates. Ditto to any nominated contacts.

What's not to like?

 

[fossyant]

Lots of these systems can render an older car scrap, and electronics do go wonky with age through connector deterioration. Relying on a dealer means lots of folk are driving round with MIL's lit or even Airbags (until MOT).

Yes they are good idiot devices, but will lead to cars going to scrap earlier than they should for economic reasons, and that includes leccy cars.

Already loads of issues with DPF filters, DSG's (gearboxes), Ford Ecobangs, wxpensive dual mass flywheels... TPS going wonky...

 

[cougie uk]

Lots of these systems can render an older car scrap, and electronics do go wonky with age through connector deterioration. Relying on a dealer means lots of folk are driving round with MIL's lit or even Airbags (until MOT).

Yes they are good idiot devices, but will lead to cars going to scrap earlier than they should for economic reasons, and that includes leccy cars.

Already loads of issues with DPF filters, DSG's (gearboxes), Ford Ecobangs, wxpensive dual mass flywheels... TPS going wonky...

But do the gadgets help avoid crashes where they could be written off ?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

My current car in a bad accident will:

Apply brakes faster and harder than a human can and avoid lock up far better.

Crash, otherwise it’s not a bad accident.

 

[fossyant]

But do the gadgets help avoid crashes where they could be written off ?

Dunno, seen enough fancy cars smashed up.

 

[CXRAndy]

Love the technology. Makes driving more relaxing, safer for me and other road users.

Trickle down will ensure all cars will have these safety features. Thankfully ICE will wither in time so need to worry about emissions