Electronic driving aids - love, hate or indifferent?

[Alex321]

I disagree, it still has cables going from the unit to the brakes.

In the main the most sophisticated computer in the car is the one in the drivers seat, we all know how bad & unreliable they are so there's no hope for the plethora of other computers dotted around the car.

I disagree on the last part.

Yes, the most sophisticated computer is the driver, but that doesn't mean the simpler ones have "no hope". They are simpler, and dedicated to specific tasks, and can be made much more reliable than more "sophisticated" ones.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

My lane assistance does a lot of wheel-tugging when on unmarked roads and it doesn't like it when parked cars force me over into hatched areas or over the dotted line. I can switch it off but, irritatingly, it switches itself back on by default when I next start the car up.

A minor irritation is when I stop close to the car in front - common in stop-start urban driving. It starts bleeping and the only way to stop it is to take the car out of gear, which of course means I'm not in full control of the car.

I think it has to be default on to maximise the NCAP score.

We only have it on on motorways if at all

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Personally I think there are far too many gadgets on the cars these days, they are far too safe, take them all away & make them dangerous again, that way people will engage with them again instead of allowing the mind to wander off to other stuff whilst the car does it for them.

Do you really want to make cars 'dangerous' again?

The 'mind wandering off etc' statement is highly assumptive imo. What makes you say that?

 

[stephec]

However, when you are on a nice open stretch road and enjoying shall we say a spirited drive and you dare breach a white line on a sweeping bend, then the car thinks that you are falling asleep and will try and steer you back into your lane. The faster you are going the more severe the resistance is to keep you within the white lines, it can be very off putting to say the least!!

That's how I discovered that my new company car had lane assistance.

Coming off the top of the A686 from where the cafe used to be, and going towards Penrith, I decided to see how the car would handle.

For anyone who doesn't know that road it's steep and twisty at that point, but it drops in front of you in such a way that you can see a long way in to the distance and use the whole road if you want to.

After a minute I was beginning to think that my wheels weren't balanced due to the juddering from the steering wheel, then after a while I noticed a little picture of a car with two dotted lines either side of it on the dash. 😂

 

[Deleted member 26715]

A minor irritation is when I stop close to the car in front - common in stop-start urban driving. It starts bleeping and the only way to stop it is to take the car out of gear, which of course means I'm not in full control of the car.

There is a simple solution for this, don't get that close to the car in front, you should always leave enough room so that if the car in front becomes inoperable you can always drive around it. Yes I know in the real world we seldom do this especially HGV's 3ft from your rear bumper, but you can if you make the conscious decision.

I disagree on the last part.

Yes, the most sophisticated computer is the driver, but that doesn't mean the simpler ones have "no hope". They are simpler, and dedicated to specific tasks, and can be made much more reliable than more "sophisticated" ones.

But they are still a venerable piece of equipment in a hostile environment, the concern I have is I feel they lull the unknowing into a false sense of security. How many people think ABS will work if all 4 wheels are on ice, that traction control is going to save them if they try to go around a 50mph bend at 70mph, it's the cocooning of the driver that concerns me.

 

[Gwylan]

My lane assistance does a lot of wheel-tugging when on unmarked roads and it doesn't like it when parked cars force me over into hatched areas or over the dotted line. I can switch it off but, irritatingly, it switches itself back on by default when I next start the car up.

A minor irritation is when I stop close to the car in front - common in stop-start urban driving. It starts bleeping and the only way to stop it is to take the car out of gear, which of course means I'm not in full control of the car.

 

[Gwylan]

I'm in the LLA camp.

Total pain in the country lanes here and rubbish on anything except motorways.

Worst example was the "take over steering" message that I got the other day.

What did it think I was doing?

Anyone know how to disable it on a VW?

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I'm in the LLA camp.

Total pain in the country lanes here and rubbish on anything except motorways.

Worst example was the "take over steering" message that I got the other day.

What did it think I was doing?

Anyone know how to disable it on a VW?

According to forums you can get an electronic device called an OBD11 (or something like that) and set it to default off.

VW won't do it for you.

Possibly might invalidate insurance cover?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'm in the LLA camp.

Total pain in the country lanes here and rubbish on anything except motorways.

Worst example was the "take over steering" message that I got the other day.

What did it think I was doing?

Anyone know how to disable it on a VW?

I've learned to keep a firmer than usual grip on the steering wheel on country lanes. As you move to the very edge of the road surface when there's an oncoming vehicle, the lane assist thinks you're driving off the road and tries to tug you back into the other vehicle's path. That is downright dangerous.

 

[oldwheels]

Quite happy to keep safety aids such as ABS, but would like to see 'lazy' driving aids such as lane keep assist and auto high beam headlights removed from all cars.

Once you've engaged the lane keep, adaptive cruise control, etc what are you thinking about while in the car, as it's certainly not driving and what's happening around you.

There was a tale going around about somebody in a Winnebago in USA who having just bought one put it on cruise control and went back to make a cup of coffee.
Fantastical enough to be true and they allegedly sued the makers as the handbook did not warn you not to do this.

 

[fossyant]

I don't think the touch screens are a great advancement, far better for a button you can 'feel' or a joystick of some sort - some cars have these as well as the touch screen, but many don't.

My car is 20 years old, but was very advanced at the time. Everything is on a screen but it's accessed via presses of comand buttons and a joystick. I can access settings using the joystick and buttons, not so on my wife's car, far harder with the touch screen.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

There was a tale going around about somebody in a Winnebago in USA who having just bought one put it on cruise control and went back to make a cup of coffee.
Fantastical enough to be true and they allegedly sued the makers as the handbook did not warn you not to do this.

Is this not an Urban myth it's been going around as long as I have been driving

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I switch lane assist off, I prefer to be driving the car and not having it second guess me.

The only automatic thing I leave on at all times is the brake assist. I'd like to think I anticipate really well normally, (I did RoSPA and IAM training plus I was an LAS response driver in the past), but brake assist came to my aid once when, on the motorway, for some reason the car ahead slowed a LOT quicker than I anticipated (almost to a stop in lane 2) with no real cues as to why he'd do that. My brain did note the speed of deceleration of the car in front, but my car recognised it as a potentially bad situation more quickly than I did, and it had already applied firm braking just as I went to react. I'm not sure if I'd have collided without brake assist, but I was impressed with it.

The auto distance / adaptive cruise control is quite nice on occasion, most usually on those heavily congested long stretches through 50mph roadworks.
Yes I'm looking at you, M1.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

My Kodiaq has, and I don't like;
1. an electronic handbrake
It (like others, I assume??) operates the brake-lights, when it's engaged, after stopping via the footbrake, shining straight at the driver behind
I don't like that happening to me, so I guess others don't!

Your handbrake shouldn't illuminate the brake lights, mine doesn't (Skoda Superb). I pull up at lights using the footbrake, pull the handbrake switch, release the footbrake, and I can see the brake light glow extinguish behind me.
It annoys me too when people in front stand on the brakes for 3 full minutes, burning your retinas out. And that's pretty much ubiquitous, I'd say over 80% of drivers can't be bothered with a handbrake now.

DRLs. Shame there isnt an over ride that stops people driving at night with no rear lights as the DRL and dash is lit. See this all the time. This is where clever tech is beaten by idiots.

Yes that's really common now isn't it! People obviously don't do that mental checklist any more, the one they teach you on the driving lessons where you go "Before I set off: It's dark / wet, so I need my lights on, it's raining, so let's put some wipers on" etc. People just jump in and go.

And I think the DRLs and the lit dash unintentionally contribute to the driver's cosy reassurance that their lights are on. Plus other passing motorists don't give "the flash" any more, again DRLs contributing to that practice going the way of the dinosaur. Not all tech is good.

 

[byegad]

I have adaptive cruise control and use it for 99% of the miles I drive.
Speed limit sign recognition which turns red should I stray over the limit, not 100% accurate, but much better that a previous car's iteration, which seemed to make them up as it went along!
Lane Assist which is poor and I have it turned off for 99% of the miles I drive, as it is not very good at recognising anything other than a lane clearly marked on both sides by some form of white lines.
Automatic lights including, if I want to select it, automatic dip. I have to manually switch them on in fog, but they work well with regard to light levels.
Proximity sensors, which help manoeuvres in tight spots, given the bonnet falls away from sight long before it ends.
Reversing camera which is a boon as the rear window sill is so high bollards lurk out of sight!
Airbags galore.
Emergency braking which comes on hard and fast if needed, I tested it with an empty cardbox acting as an obstacle and from 30mph the car damn nearly put me through the windscreen, but it didn't touch the box!
I feel the car is safer than my earlier cars, helps me drive better and safer. While maintaining the correct speeds to comply with limits I can be looking out for hazards 100% of the time.