arU4ic

Nothing like starting a controversial thread in the first week of the new year… but…

I am baffled by consumers desire for assisted driving. Maybe I'm just too old or a control freak or fear the downward slope this will cause, but I deeply resent features that take over the car's controls. Everything from braking to parallel parking the car automagically.

I know, I know, it will save lives, but I see it as the beginning of giving up freedom because of fear of injury. I say the beginning, because I see how these are only safety features now, but eventually see people losing the right to drive. All it will take is a few lawsuits from people claiming that the Auto manufacturer didn't build enough driver assist features to protect their safety, then before you know it, cars have no steering wheel, because Gov't and Automakers are too afraid of human error.

Anyway, taking it down a notch, I'm just curious why people want these features, they have zero appeal to me.

DennisMitchell

Because I am 60+, the reflexes go downhill from here, and it saves lives.

Seriously, I had a jerk slam his brakes at 65 mph and pull off the highway onto the shoulder in front of me. Slightly distracted by something else, the S3 started braking before I reacted. This was Audi Presense Front working. ACC was not engaged. Well worth it.

For fun, its amazing with ACC to be following the car in front and it takes the same exit as you. The ACC brakes and accelerate into and out of the exit. Stop and go traffic is another great one. Quite exciting.

In any case, the technology is amazing.

EGainer

Simple answer, it makes our lives easier, safer, and convenient.

It doesn't just apply to cars; as technology gets better, our technology will do more for us.

And remember, while you and I love driving, most of my friends don't care about it. A to B... They might as well be on a subway.

For me, when I'm with my family on the highway, I enjoy the ability to put it in comfort mode, let acc help control the speed, and lane assist help guide me. Makes my ride more enjoyable.

easymacgyver

I was thinking about skipping it until I test drove the car and the visibility out of the back is not so great. Blind spot detection is a wonderful thing, and considering that my kids will eventually drive this car, I'd like to give them some assistance in not wrecking it...

Spoonie G

If these systems are truly a safety items then why are they optional? If you have to pay for it, and can get the car without it, then how much of a safety feature are they really?

Spoonie G

Same here. I also feel the say way about folks who pay extra for rear airbags.

Quattro_Quattro

I can agree with that. "Safety for a price". While I think that the technology is amazing, and can help improve safety on the road, it frightens me that many people will rely too heavily on it. These features should be treated solely as aids to the driver, and not as systems that replace driver ability. I can see people thinking, "I can look away from the road, because the car will brake for me" "The car will keep me in the correct lane, I don't have to pay attention". Technology can fail, so it shouldn't take the place of awareness while driving. There are some things that are being legislated though. In New York State, there is legislation in progress to mandate Back-Up Cameras in all new vehicles.

letaub

I agree with the original poster of this thread.

I've driven cars with active cruise control and found the car braking just as I wanted to accelerate to overtake the car in front of me--to do so I had to get closer to that car than the cruise control expected. So multiple times, I've lost the brief window I had to pass.

Don't need blind spot detection, as I've replaced the driver's side flat outside mirror with a Euro-spec convex one; no more blind spots.

I'd rather drive than be driven.

irenesbob

I am 72 (i.e., an old fart) and have posted sentiments similar the OP’s several times. I believe things that make life easier are good: power steering, automatic starters (yes, my Dad had a Nash with a crank), washing machines, dishwashers, and so forth. My main concerns with many of the new and projected near-term future automated functions are: they are not yet bullet proof; they could tend to make drivers even less involved in driving than they are now; accountability for one’s actions could be even more confused and diluted.
I don’t have ACC or anything like that but I do have Audi Side Assist and a rearview/backup camera. Recently I had to drive another car for a few days, one that had neither the Side Assist functionality nor a backup camera. What I found was that I didn’t miss the Side Assist at all, but I did miss the backup camera.
I thought about why that was and reached the following conclusion. Side Assist is a help in that it gives a driver information that he needs without having to stretch his neck and look in the mirrors, but offers nothing new that is not available to a keen driver without Side Assist. The backup camera on the other hand shows things no amount of turning, mirror searching, etc. can show. The other day while preparing to backup I looked in the monitor and saw a small unleashed dog that had just walked behind my car and I was able to stop before hitting it. This information from the backup camera is a real benefit and gave me information I could not have gotten without the ability to be in the car driving it and standing in back of it at the same time – a physical impossibility so far as I know.
This distinction between assisting/helping and giving some useful new function or information not otherwise available gives me differing views on certain technological improvements. Once the reliability of self-driving vehicles is proven I don’t see the concept as any more “out there” than a lot of improvements, but I think it is a long way off. When I was a kid the idea that someone could have a robot device vacuum their carpets was beyond comprehension.

DennisMitchell

Anytime you want to take over you touch the gas or the brake. Even if it is reacting, as soon as you react, it backs off. You will be in full control. Yes it has happened to me where the car starts reacting, so maybe we should be reacting sooner to avoid it engaging.

Its a great backup.