This has come up as a side topic in a few threads I have read recently. Do people think that "safety features" such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Mitigation and Lane Departure Warning really make us safer? Is it possible that these features make us more likely to pay LESS attention to operating the vehicle?
https://youtu.be/-fAGGlVhRUk
https://www.wired.com/2011/07/active-safety-systems-could-create-passive-drivers/
I have been a professional driver for over 25 years and have logged over 2 million safe miles with no tickets or accidents. (I have seen some crazy things). While I don't consider myself an expert on anything but my own opinion, I definitely have a few:
1. If you need a vehicle's assistance to keep from inadvertently crossing into another lane, you should not be driving. If you're too tired or too drunk or too busy texting, you are just putting other people's lives at risk, not just your own.
2. If you are too lazy to use the gas and brake pedals and are depending on ACC to "drive" you through an urban area with stop lights, you should not be driving. Again, you are putting others at risk by depending on a system that is not designed for that type of environment.
3. If you think that texting or reading you email is acceptable now because your car will stop you in an emergency, you should not be driving.
I continue to be amazed at the complete lack of attention that many people exhibit while operating a vehicle. Far too many think of driving as secondary to whatever else is distracting them at the time. So let's put down the phones, GPS's, makeup, electric razors, maps, laptops, newspapers, books, and start PAYING ATTENTION to the road and other drivers. I'm not against a good safety feature or two, just the complacency that it may breed.
Rant over.
https://youtu.be/-fAGGlVhRUk
https://www.wired.com/2011/07/active-safety-systems-could-create-passive-drivers/
I have been a professional driver for over 25 years and have logged over 2 million safe miles with no tickets or accidents. (I have seen some crazy things). While I don't consider myself an expert on anything but my own opinion, I definitely have a few:
1. If you need a vehicle's assistance to keep from inadvertently crossing into another lane, you should not be driving. If you're too tired or too drunk or too busy texting, you are just putting other people's lives at risk, not just your own.
2. If you are too lazy to use the gas and brake pedals and are depending on ACC to "drive" you through an urban area with stop lights, you should not be driving. Again, you are putting others at risk by depending on a system that is not designed for that type of environment.
3. If you think that texting or reading you email is acceptable now because your car will stop you in an emergency, you should not be driving.
I continue to be amazed at the complete lack of attention that many people exhibit while operating a vehicle. Far too many think of driving as secondary to whatever else is distracting them at the time. So let's put down the phones, GPS's, makeup, electric razors, maps, laptops, newspapers, books, and start PAYING ATTENTION to the road and other drivers. I'm not against a good safety feature or two, just the complacency that it may breed.
Rant over.