Once upon a time, the coolest cars in the world were the ones packed full of high-tech gizmos. We’re talking Bruce Wayne’s Batmobile, Michael’s Knight Rider ‘K.I.T.T.’, the Porsche 911 in Death Race and the Audi RSQ in I, Robot. It was all about futuristic cars that were jam-packed with technology, which is pretty much every other car you see on the streets today.
Sure, today’s high-tech four-wheelers may not have the same over-the-top facades as those from the movies but, in terms of onboard technology, they blow Hollywood’s depictions off the tarmac. Period.
But is all that tech a good thing, or has it gone so far the other way that you’ll need to have www.laventlaw.com saved in your internet browser at all times because cars have now been made unsafe as a result? Sure, there are two sides to every story. No one can deny that. But for sake of argument, we’re going to explore the possibility that tech has indeed made modern cars a hazard unto themselves.
- We Can Resist Everything Except Distraction
Thumb through a book of classic cars and you’ll see that all the dashboards looked the same, by which we mean dressed in a fake wood effect and spruced up with a basic radio and a single heating unit. Nowadays, though, there is touchscreen technology, inbuilt GPS systems, Bluetooth connectivity to link up with your iPhone and iPad, and a plethora of functions that require your concentration because usability is still an issue. Now, don’t get us wrong, a lot of the tech has improved safety, such as rear-view cameras, parking sensors, collision avoidance systems, pedestrian sensors and automatic braking. However, distracted driving is the biggest cause of accidents, second only to driving under the influence. Which begs the question, is all this tech increasing the risks?
- Things Are A Mess When You Are Stressed
Some people were born tech-savvy. Yup. There are techy-unicorns out there, it’s just that most of them still get spots bi-daily. For the rest of us, however, getting used to technology that is not universal comes with stress and frustrations, which is a big problem when it comes to road safety because an angered driver is not a safe one. Not knowing how to work the GPS system, getting rerouted by your onboard navigation, having text messages read aloud through the speakers, trying to call your wife through voice recognition only to keep calling your ex by accident. All of it can cause an unsafe amount of stress, the kind that no crash-avoidance tech could protect you from.
- We’re In An Age Of Semi-autonomous Driving
Let’s get one thing straight, the level of semi-autonomous technology found in everyday cars is mindblowing. It just is. Adaptive cruise control sees you slow down with the traffic, lane departure warnings stop you crashing into cars either side and some cars even have sensors that can tell when you are sleepy. However, there is a glaring problem with semi-autonomous tech, and that is the fact it is semi-autonomous. The driver still needs to be involved and that can pose a problem, especially with driver’s getting a little lazier so to speak.
