by Spider » Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:22 pm
Without a heavy reliance on instruments planes would crash like drunken pelicans. So that's not the best example.
Personally, I'm not opposed to fully automated freeways, even major urban transit corridors. I'd get more reading done.
But the other 90% of roads? Let me drive. Its too much fun to give up.
There have been some pretty useful technical advances that don't make people worse drivers. Gear synchronizers. Anti-lock brakes. Power steering. Even traction control, within reason. AWD. Cruise control.
Where it comes off the rails is things like automatic transmissions, automatic parking. Rear view cameras. Automatic braking that lets you pay less attention because you think the machine will protect you, etc. Any time the driver is disconnected from the critical dynamics of maneuvering, gear ratios and compression braking, and having to actually look around and be aware of what's happening, we've got a problem.