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
  • I can’t see it mentioned above, Volkswagen are putting “real” buttons back on their steering wheels.

    As the name suggests, a steering wheel is a circular control that is turned by the driver to get the vehicle to go in the right direction, it is something that the driver should be using intuitively without looking at it, which was quite possible until they were festooned with controls that should be on the dashboard.

    www.topgear.com/.../volkswagen-bringing-back-real-steering-wheel-buttons

  • festooned with controls that should be on the dashboard

    There is nothing new about controls on the steering wheel or at least in the centre. One of my old cars has controls for the mixture, ignition advance, idling speed, and of course the horn.

    The ones on the spokes of my modern car do many wonderful things. The cruise control, which is in frequent use, can be operated by feel, but others really should not be available whilst driving.

    What I really don't like is touch screen controls.

Reply
  • festooned with controls that should be on the dashboard

    There is nothing new about controls on the steering wheel or at least in the centre. One of my old cars has controls for the mixture, ignition advance, idling speed, and of course the horn.

    The ones on the spokes of my modern car do many wonderful things. The cruise control, which is in frequent use, can be operated by feel, but others really should not be available whilst driving.

    What I really don't like is touch screen controls.

Children
  • A horn is permissible!

    I have controls for the radio and phone on the steering wheel on my current van, I don’t use them. But I did use the same controls when they were on a steering column stalk in the previous van.

    Something about them always being in the same place makes intuitive use easier?

  • Something about them always being in the same place makes intuitive use easier?

    It can be awkward when the steering wheel is upside down, for example, after parking.

    However, try going from automatic to manual with the accelerator on the right to manual with accelerator in the middle; or gearstick in the middle to gearstick on the right!