New Car Aides

[RedHP]

Hey all,

After watching Top Gear last night, I thought about the car/driving aides currently available (i.e. auto park, parking size confirmation, lane drift recognition etc etc and maybe even parking sensors....I'm sure there are more).
I passed my test at the age of 17, approx 17 years ago, and if I couldn't do any of these then I shouldn't have a licence !
Not a technophobe, I understand and like the options now available but surely you should be able to do the basics (i.e. park your car). I just think that in 10 or 20 years time, drivers will rely on these aides to much and not use their own instincts during basic driving..........

Anyone else agree ??

Red

[Jimble]

I agree with what your saying but tbf to pass your test you'll still be expected to be able to park before passing, i had that park assist on a courtesy golf se a few months back and i was seriously impressed with it but you still need ti be aware of whats happening as it'd still be dead easy to prang it!

[Metallix]

No.

They are just luxury items / toys / gadgets.

Unless something becomes a safety requirement e.g. seatbelts, ABS etc.  then it will remain an optional extra OR if included in the base vehicle it is a way of making your product stand out from the rest.

You can turn functions like lane-departure warning/vibration off.  You don't have to use auto-park or many other features if you don't want to.

Mod cons such as parking sensors are a great addition to a large modern vehicle, something large like a Ford Galaxy or anything else that has poor visibility while reversing.

Auto parallel park & "parking size" are part of the same function, an entry condition to auto-park so that the system only parks in a space where the vehicle will fit.  You can imagine what would happen if this condition did not exist.

Here is a modern feature that is actually useful:  Adaptive cruise control.
The most annoying thing about cruise control is having to tap + + +, - - - to adjust your speed when someone pulls into/out of your lane.  Adaptive cruise uses a forward sensing module to know when a vehicle is in front & can adjust your speed automatically to keep the same gap.  This is great for long journeys as you concentrate on simply sitting comfortable & steering, reducing tiredness by a great deal.

While none of our 3 cars even have cruise, I can appreciate this modern feature as a cool gadget.

[Gti_Jamo]

I'm not a fan off all these aids on modern cars. If you can't do the basics you shouldn't be on the road. Fair play if you have some sort of impairment where these things will make you safer then yes but to the averge joe, why would he need parking assist when he is more than capable of performing the manouver himself, a few years down the line he wont be able to do it as he has relied on the technology. Most drivers these can't even be arsed to use their indicators on the motorway, we don't need them stripped of even more common sense.

[RedHP]

Just to clarify, I know that in order to pass a driving test you will need to for eg, park your car in various situations. And that these new drivers will continue to do so using these methods for a few years.
But if you are a driver and continually use the auto-park (again, for example), or in 10-or-20 years time when these options will be available on 'older' vehicles, I fear that the dependancy on these options will be too reliant thus removing the need for our own skills.
Again, I love the tech available now and can't wait for what the future will bring, but I do think that at the same time we shouldn't lose our own skills

Red

[Metallix]

I suppose a good example is the sat nav.

Some people forget/never had their sense of direction and follow sat nav blindly, ignoring sign posts & driving off the end of piers, down closed roads, or one way streets.

This is their own fault.  Not the fault of the sat nav manufacturer.  The failure was over-reliance.

Sat nav devices can be very useful for locating hard to find places once you have done the bulk of the journey, getting about in a new area, finding stops on a journey such as fuel, food, points of interest.

There are always going to be muppets who rely too heavily on gadgets, which demonises the gadgets for everyone else "sat navs turning drivers into mindless zombies".

[RedHP]

I suppose a good example is the sat nav.

Thanks and very good example. How many drivers aged between 17-27 can read a map nowadays (excluding Geography students!) ?
And also a good shout on road signs/diversions. Many people, my wife included, rely heavily on their sat-nav.
Another fact regarding reliance on sat-nav and in particular its mph/speed limit feature, is that if the version you are running is not up-to-date you could be breaking newly introduced speed-limits and thus face a fine and points. And we all know that new drivers don't have many points to play with 

Red

[joe6]

The only recent technical feature that adds to safety IMHO is the distance to car in front monitor. The number of idiots who try to climb up the rear bumper when the queue in front is holding everything up gets bigger every year. Wonder how long before that feature becomes mandatory?

[Dolly]

more to go wrong, i like having a mk2 golf from 1985, not alot to go wrong and when it does we are talking basics that anyone can have a crack at fixing, not compters, control units, bus systems and all tat. I work on modern cars and i find the newer the car the more pita it is do anything.

[Len]

I wont ever drive a car with these kind of gizmos fitted.