Automobiles Bells And Whistles - do they make better drivers?

[Mat4644]

With all the lane drifting and last minute stops you see others doing these features will be welcome as standard equipment on all future vehicles. Especially as we become a use your gadget as you drive society. Eventually they'll be safer than most drivers.

 

[oosik]

Both my BMW motorcycle & Ram Power Wagon have the latest in digital technology. There is a tremendous "desire/need" to check the display screen and make changes as you are driving. The motorcycle has a feature that locks out any changes while in motion.

The Taco Wagon not so. I have to continuously remind myself to keep my eyes on the road while I'm tapping on the screen. No matter where I travel - I now know many spots where I can pull over and make any changes.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It astounds me that here you can't as much touch your phone while driving, but can diddle with your vehicles electronics all day long. And it's bad, because much of the time, I have to figure that stuff out. NONE of it is user intuitive.

 

[newbury]

Bells are good, but limited distance. Whistles are annoying and keep me awake.

As always, the downside to that is repair bills down the road. Not just from things wearing out, but apparently some of the sensors for those are integrated into the windshield.It may cost more than you think to replace a windshield | Kelley Blue Book I generally generally catch a rock and replace a windshield every two years or so. Last winter I replaced one in each of my pickups, costing me 200$/per; this year I've already had the new windshield in my company truck repaired, and have a pretty good ding in my new Colorado.

Not only the repair bills but the inspections to keep everything working. In Virginia my 2009 VW had turn signals on the mirrors, as well as the four corners, One failed, they wouldn't pass it for inspection. Several hundred dollar fix. My son's car has TPMS that was not working right, was told it wouldn't pass inspection.

It astounds me that here you can't as much touch your phone while driving, but can diddle with your vehicles electronics all day long. And it's bad, because much of the time, I have to figure that stuff out. NONE of it is user intuitive.

It took me hours going through the manual on my 2019 Ford Escape bought a year ago, and I'm still finding things.

 

[oosik]

My cell phone is totally voice activated while in the Taco Wagon. Make a call, receive a call, add to the calling list. This is nice since the incoming call comes out thru the vehicle audio system and I can actually hear what is being said.

 

[reb]

Guess I am the sole Luddite here. I just got a new pickup with all the bells and whistles. I have figured out how to disable many of them. Long term reliability and economy of operation and repairs are important to me. Fisheye mirrors serve the blind spot monitoring function. Proper attention to driving takes care of the other problems mentioned above. Wish I could find a new '80s vehicle.

 

[MossRoad]

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.

I won't leave late at night like that. I will leave early if needed, and drive all day, and well into the night, to about 2am.

I have found that I get drowsy around 2pm daily. And I get drowsy around 2-3am as well. Knowing that, I watch for it, and pull over around 2pm and get a bite to eat, stretch a bit, gas in the car, etc... and I'm good to go for 12 more hours. Around 2am, I know it's time to quit, and never push myself. It's just not worth it for me. I could do it when I was younger, or, maybe, I just didn't realize how tired I really was.

 

[MossRoad]

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.

The more serious injuries I witnessed were people collapsing into their machines from passing out, heart attacks, or getting part of their bodies caught in a machine when a guard was removed. Loose clothing was another problem. We had lots of waist high conveyors to transport product and people had to reach over them to place or remove product. Trips, falls, loss of balance onto moving conveyors was an issue. Reaching into running machines. You can teach them not to, make them take classes, show them what'll happen if they do it, etc..... yet they still do it. So, as I mentioned, light curtains stop the machines if the plane is broken. Stop cables running the length of the conveyors so if it's touched, the conveyors stop. Kill switches on guards and doors to stop the machines if the guards or doors are opened or removed. Machines stop if out of product.

Safety is a never ending battle in a factory, or for any employer, really. You want your employees to go home with all of their body parts, and, of course, you don't want them to sue you. Most employees think it's just the employer covering their assets, and it is. However, most employers genuinely don't want you to get hurt on the job because no one wants to see someone maimed or killed, and yes the financial losses are also a genuine concern.

 

[Oaktree]

Guess I am the sole Luddite here. I just got a new pickup with all the bells and whistles. I have figured out how to disable many of them. Long term reliability and economy of operation and repairs are important to me. Fisheye mirrors serve the blind spot monitoring function. Proper attention to driving takes care of the other problems mentioned above. Wish I could find a new '80s vehicle.

I don't consider myself a Luddite, but I agree with most of what you said. IMHO a lot of this technology promotes complacency, not safety. The nanny state strikes again.

I'd settle for a pre-2010 vehicle...the technology didn't get too intrusive until around then.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I did some conyeyor control for a pharma customer of mine twenty years ago (still in operation) and worried about the liability. Sheity, when you want to make some honest money but worry that you could loose everything.

 

[Mat4644]

Toddler ran in back of the car while backing out of a Walmart parking space. Camera immediately caught the motion and sounded an alarm. Backing slow so danger level was lessened but totally appreciated the gadget since he was in a blind spot. It has also alerted me to cars going way to fast in a parking lot while backing out.

 

[Industrial Toys]

In all seriousness. At what point do you want to curb the "end of thinking" and dumbing down of humans? Because it's fast heading that way. I'm old enough that I don't really care, but what of future generations? The future really seems to be shaping up like the "In the year 2525" song!

 

[oosik]

All this new "driver assist" technology is fine and hopefully making things safer. However - I think I'll draw the line when it comes to self-driving vehicles. I probably shouldn't be overly concerned. At my age I'll probably never live long enough to see this.

 

[Jstpssng]

All this new "driver assist" technology is fine and hopefully making things safer. However - I think I'll draw the line when it comes to self-driving vehicles. I probably shouldn't be overly concerned. At my age I'll probably never live long enough to see this.

They've had them since the end of the 19th century. They call them "trains", yet still need some human supervision.

 

[mikester]

The short answer is NO!

If tech was the answer then apple spell check and autocorrect would make me a better speller...it doesn't, and it makes things worse.

Ever notice how Tesla immediately denies all responsibility when their "autopilot" causes a car crash and says the driver was at fault?

Tech is nice to have when it works, and it absolutely sucks when it doesn't.

Some people simply shouldn't be allowed to drive on the roads, tech or no tech.

 

[oosik]

Some people simply shouldn't be allowed to drive on the roads, tech or no tech.[/QUOTE]

Oh, my word, bite your tongue. This may be the God's honest truth but shall never come to pass.

That person who just bought the $85K "super slusher" being told they can not drive - it will never happen.

 

[Mat4644]

With all the weed laws being passed by states plus all the drunks and sleepy people already on the road I welcome the driver correction features as standard equipment.

 

[MossRoad]

The VW I was driving had the lane assist. I tested it out a few times by taking my hands off the wheel. The car would usually approach to within about 6" if the right line, then push the car back a few inches into the lane. After about 8 seconds of this, it would sense I wasn't holding the wheel and flash some warnings. I didn't push it any further. I should have to see if it would have braked the car.

One of the nights during the trip when we were at home, I was reading a story about Cadillac's super cruise technology that uses cameras to make sure the driver is attentive. Other companies use torque sensing technology to sense if the driver's hands are on the wheel. It senses that the driver isn't responding to the force applied to the wheel by the computer and electric motor. I'm guessing the VW uses that, but haven't looked into it.

Like it or not, it sure is interesting how they approach this.

 

[Egon]

New aids for the operator:

Think about flying a tiger moth through dense fog without instruments (visual line of sight) and being in a 747 in fog. Which would you prefer. Let痴 leave the 737 Max out of this question.

It should take maybe three minutes in the tiger moth before the pilot becomes disoriented.

 

[Mat4644]

For those old enough remember the same discussion when cruise control came out?

Also anyone remember the Urban Legend of the driver that just got a new car with cruise control? The story goes he went on the highway, engaged the cruise control and proceeded to crawl into the back seat for a nap.:laughing: