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? 

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  • @Chris Pearson 

    I have just driven around twenty miles in my wife’s car, there four full turns of the steering wheel, so the buttons on the steering wheel were rarely in the same place for more than a few seconds, except the horn with it being a big button in the middle.

    My hands were generally in the same position throughout the journey as I generally maintain a quarter to three driving position because that’s also the position of the steering column stalks, the buttons on the steering wheel were all over the place.

    Buttons on the steering wheel may be okay on long motorway journeys, but are pretty useless on other roads as you have to drop your head to find them.

    Meanwhile, people now want  voice activated controls in their cars, my Sat Nav is voice controlled which amuses my wife on long car journeys when I try to have conversations with it. 

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  • @Chris Pearson 

    I have just driven around twenty miles in my wife’s car, there four full turns of the steering wheel, so the buttons on the steering wheel were rarely in the same place for more than a few seconds, except the horn with it being a big button in the middle.

    My hands were generally in the same position throughout the journey as I generally maintain a quarter to three driving position because that’s also the position of the steering column stalks, the buttons on the steering wheel were all over the place.

    Buttons on the steering wheel may be okay on long motorway journeys, but are pretty useless on other roads as you have to drop your head to find them.

    Meanwhile, people now want  voice activated controls in their cars, my Sat Nav is voice controlled which amuses my wife on long car journeys when I try to have conversations with it. 

Children
  • Meanwhile, people now want  voice activated controls in their cars, my Sat Nav is voice controlled which amuses my wife on long car journeys when I try to have conversations with it. 

    That is something that I have never tried, but I shall give it a go later on.

    The buttons on my steering wheel can be felt easily. Most commonly used is cruise control. Main button up for select up or down for down in 1 mph increments, but long press gives 5 mph increments. Second button for engage and re-engage, but long push selects the speed limit whatever it might be.

    The spokes on my steering wheel are shaped to fit my thumbs. That's where they stay most of the time except, for example when turning on or off a road, but that is not an appropriate time for using the buttons.