Automobiles Bells And Whistles - do they make better drivers?

[Liquidsilver]

I see the points of the OP, and I mostly agree.

But as a father and uncle that's taught so many kids to drive... I really wonder if all of these features are making people unable to drive without them... and is that okay?

When I rode with my niece that drives daily in Los Angeles, she literally reminded me of where the word 'squirrelly' came from. Without these driving aids, she would be hitting everything. God help us if she had to drive my 'dumb' truck, or try to rent a U-Haul. Just makes me wonder.

 

[Ortimber]

I see the points of the OP, and I mostly agree.

But as a father and uncle that's taught so many kids to drive... I really wonder if all of these features are making people unable to drive without them... and is that okay?

When I rode with my niece that drives daily in Los Angeles, she literally reminded me of where the word 'squirrelly' came from. Without these driving aids, she would be hitting everything. God help us if she had to drive my 'dumb' truck, or try to rent a U-Haul. Just makes me wonder.

The technology is here to stay, and improving by leaps and bounds. I own a machine shop and at one time, we ran the business with little more than an adding machine and calculators. Today, there is no one here that could function without a computer. Myself included. Point being that I don't ever see the need to revert back to old school technics (cranking out parts by hand). I think driving will be looked at the same way someday in that the human won't really be needed to do the majority of the work. Not saying I agree with that, but it's the way things are headed...

 

[Jstpssng]

The other side of this coin is that it could help us keep our licenses as we get older. I know that my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. I used to really enjoy travelling on rainy nights (once I sold my motorcycle) but about 12 years ago I realized that my vision in those conditions aren't as good as they should be. I started wearing glasses but what else is going to diminish as I get older? When I was a kid an elderly neighbor came over and said "I just gave up my independence today, I surrendered my license." At 10 yo I didn't understand what he was saying... now it's becoming clearer.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Driving around at dusk with my E-Gator as I like to do. Hey, summer has returned! The bright western sky just renders my vision almost useless. As do the new bright LED head lights of on-coming vehicles.

 

[fried1765]

The other side of this coin is that it could help us keep our licenses as we get older. I know that my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. I used to really enjoy travelling on rainy nights (once I sold my motorcycle) but about 12 years ago I realized that my vision in those conditions aren't as good as they should be. I started wearing glasses but what else is going to diminish as I get older? When I was a kid an elderly neighbor came over and said "I just gave up my independence today, I surrendered my license." At 10 yo I didn't understand what he was saying... now it's becoming clearer.

"what else is going to diminish as I get older?"

EVERYTHING.....ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING !!!

 

[Industrial Toys]

Did nature render an old mans eye sight compromised so he would not see his enemy, meet a quick end and be spared the slow death of being put out on the spring ice?

 

[Travelover]

The other side of this coin is that it could help us keep our licenses as we get older.........

And self driving cars are the logical extension of this. When you live in a rural area and have to give up driving due to health problems, you are in a world of hurt. It would be pretty sweet to have the vehicle drop you off at the doctor's office or supermarket and then pick you up at the door.

 

[bigtiller]

That was quite a drive Moss. did you get tired?
I did it when I was 21 and I sure was glad to get back home in my own bed.

We took an 11 month old baby to Ickesburg, Pa. from Ankeny, Ia. in a '73 AMC Gremlin to meet his grandpa over the 4 day Thanksgiving Day weekend. It was about a 2000 mile round trip.

If you remember, the national speed limit in '73 was 55mph.

Not trying to one-up-ya, just remembering how tiring it was when I was young. I'd hate to have to do it now.

 

[oosik]

When we lived in Alaska we would drive out to visit our folks about every five years. 2570 miles one way - Anchorage to NE WA state. I don't remember getting tired so much. BORED would be a better description. Mile upon mile of dusty gravel road for five days. Ten to twelve hours of driving each day.

In later years we changed our traveling habits. Drive the ALCAN out of Alaska - take the Alaska Marine Highway system on the return trip.

 

[Mat4644]

Most accidents are from a normally alert driver loosing concentration for an instant. A distraction often less than a second causes an accident. Every human gets distracted why not have a helper that gives you an edge?

 

[MossRoad]

That was quite a drive Moss. did you get tired?
I did it when I was 21 and I sure was glad to get back home in my own bed.

We took an 11 month old baby to Ickesburg, Pa. from Ankeny, Ia. in a '73 AMC Gremlin to meet his grandpa over the 4 day Thanksgiving Day weekend. It was about a 2000 mile round trip.

If you remember, the national speed limit in '73 was 55mph.

Not trying to one-up-ya, just remembering how tiring it was when I was young. I'd hate to have to do it now.

No. I didn't get tired. The drive was quite enjoyable. In fact, we stopped once about 2 hours out of Stillwater to return some coffee rental , then again somewhere around Six Flags near St. Louis for gas and some sliders from Arby's. So really, only about 20. minutes total in stops on a 12.5 hour drive. Just didn't feel the need to stop and stretch my legs. The car was that comfortable.

I'm glad I didn't have to make it in my '93 Suburban with no cruise control. :laughing:

Back in the late 80's we drove out to Denver non-stop once. 16 hours. 55mph. In a '83 Cavalier. Yikes! :laughing: So I'm right there with ya on the been-there-done-that don't want to do it again. :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

Most accidents are from a normally alert driver loosing concentration for an instant. A distraction often less than a second causes an accident. Every human gets distracted why not have a helper that gives you an edge?

Exactly. :thumbsup:

 

[Garandman]

Our 2014 Outback had all these features: the Subaru forward-look system is called EyeSight.

When that car got totaled by a texting driver, went back to the previous Gen.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Humans are almost always about habit. Concentration is a habit. Remove the mecessity for that concentration and the human get's out of that habit all of the time.

 

[MossRoad]

At my last employer they had a program and went through automating lots of machinery, adding safety guards, light curtains, deadman switches, etc... injuries dropped dramatically.

So while I agree with you, I also like to see the safety features added.

 

[Industrial Toys]

That kind of suggests to me that the workers were not very focused on their work. Understandable but problematic. I am bored to tears when driving a couple of hours.

 

[bigtiller]

That was quite a drive Moss. did you get tired?
I did it when I was 21 and I sure was glad to get back home in my own bed.

We took an 11 month old baby to Ickesburg, Pa. from Ankeny, Ia. in a '73 AMC Gremlin to meet his grandpa over the 4 day Thanksgiving Day weekend. It was about a 2000 mile round trip.

If you remember, the national speed limit in '73 was 55mph.

Not trying to one-up-ya, just remembering how tiring it was when I was young. I'd hate to have to do it now.

I just remembered why I was tired, I missed a nights sleep.
I got off work at midnight and took off. Drove all night and all the next day and got there about an hour to late for supper.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Since I backed into a snow bank, the gimmicky back up assist has not worked for years on my GMC. Yet something in my brain still tells me I have something watching out for me when I backup.

 

[KennyG]

I don't have all the new features yet, but I really like them, especially the blind spot warnings and backup cameras and warnings. I think it's safe to say the features will increase safety but not as much as they should. Humans are inherently flawed and misjudge risk. A certain number of people will take advantage of the technology to get lax in their behavior. Take the Tesla drivers who take naps for example.

I don't think we should expect the technology to be perfect. I had a Peugeot on a short term lease in Europe that had a lane keeping system. It was great until I got to southern France where the lanes were narrower than the car. The steering wheel almost constantly vibrated until I figured out how to turn it off.

 

[Oaktree]

Back in the late 80's we drove out to Denver non-stop once. 16 hours. 55mph. In a '83 Cavalier. Yikes! :laughing: So I'm right there with ya on the been-there-done-that don't want to do it again. :thumbsup:

I had a '90 Cavalier that was very comfortable, decent on gas too.

Probably the worst road trip was in a 90s-vintage corrola (belonged to a lady friend). THE most uncomfortable, unpleasant vehicle I've ever been in.

I don't have all the new features yet, but I really like them, especially the blind spot warnings and backup cameras and warnings. I think it's safe to say the features will increase safety but not as much as they should.

Or maybe the automakers could just go back to building vehicles you can actually see out of. I understand that the high beltline and generally tiny windows are due to all the airbags they're required to have, but I still hate it. Backup cams can be useful in some situations, but every one I've ever seen washes out in daylight so as to be pretty useless.