Has automation in the automotive industry made drivers lazy?

It's been a beautiful summer here in the UK this year. We've been treated to day after day of blue sky and sunshine making the commute to work an absolute dream. 

However, I woke up the other morning to find the world wrapped in a thick blanket of mist and fog for the first time in what feels like a decade (but in reality is probably only a few months Blush)

So, on the commute to work that morning, I popped on my fog lights (both back and front) while driving along the country road that winds from my village and out to the main highway to help my fellow travellers see me in this fog soup, only to come up rapidly behind a small silver grey Peugeot with no lights on! Then on the other side of the carriageway, more cars coming head on out of the mist with again with no lights on... Fearful

I would safely estimate that 3 out of every 10 cars I encountered on my journey into work that morning through the thick fog and mist, was not sporting any lights on their car at all let alone the very useful fog lights that are purpose made for driving in situations of reduced visibility.

I'm aware that many modern cars have automatic lights that come on when light levels are low BUT I'm finding that many drivers are not taking matters into their own hands when it comes to deciding when their car lights should actually be illuminated. Again the other day the sky went black and there was a sudden downpour on the way home from work and again, many drivers did not have their lights on probably opting for the decision to be taken by the onboard light sensors instead. 

A friend of mine also has automatic main beam on her car so she doesn't have to decide when to use it and when not to. The car makes that decision for her. 

It got me thinking... have we gone too far with automation in vehicles? Should we be encouraging drivers to make more decisions for themselves when behind the wheel of their car? Have we in fact through automation, removed too much responsibility from the driver themselves? 

Parents
  • Just to note, I went into a Ford Dealership first and enquired about having a new Ford Fiesta, I was told that Ford have closed the order book, so I have the choice of two that were ordered by other people who got fed up with waiting for delivery and cancelled their orders, but the cars will still be made to the specification the original customer ordered and cannot be altered despite the cars having not yet been built. Then she told me the prices £22,500 and £23,500 which was when I quietly moved on as I was thinking more low to mid-teens after the part exchange, which is doable.

    Apparently wiring harnesses, touch screens and other electrical equipment for many car manufacturers are made in Western Ukraine and the war is stopping many car and van manufacturers from being able to build vehicles.

    Also, as noted above I’m a cheapskate and need to raise the bar into the higher end of the teens, to sixteen or seventeen after the part exchange and a touch screen and Sat Nav is more of an essential than I thought being a man who sticks his Sat Nav on the window, though I can talk to it. 

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  • Just to note, I went into a Ford Dealership first and enquired about having a new Ford Fiesta, I was told that Ford have closed the order book, so I have the choice of two that were ordered by other people who got fed up with waiting for delivery and cancelled their orders, but the cars will still be made to the specification the original customer ordered and cannot be altered despite the cars having not yet been built. Then she told me the prices £22,500 and £23,500 which was when I quietly moved on as I was thinking more low to mid-teens after the part exchange, which is doable.

    Apparently wiring harnesses, touch screens and other electrical equipment for many car manufacturers are made in Western Ukraine and the war is stopping many car and van manufacturers from being able to build vehicles.

    Also, as noted above I’m a cheapskate and need to raise the bar into the higher end of the teens, to sixteen or seventeen after the part exchange and a touch screen and Sat Nav is more of an essential than I thought being a man who sticks his Sat Nav on the window, though I can talk to it. 

Children