Perhaps, but electronics can encourage more distracted driving which will not end well.

 

Exactly. I'm a pragmatic guy. You're not going to somehow solve the issue of distracted driving across the population, and resisting technologies that mitigate its risk because "people shouldn't do that" doesn't make any sense.

 

yup, serious, i think requiring a young person to be able to drive a stick, change the oil and change a tire before they can even think of getting a learner's permit is extreme, especially the change the oil part. stick's are almost dead and changing the oil for 99.9% of people means going to the dealer or the quick oil change place.

i agree with the first (chicken and egg) but not the second. the only solution to tech issues is more tech. changing the population to somehow be more 'sensible' and less distracted is not going to happen, short of more tech to set of klaxon hormns inside the car whenever a driver takes hand off wheel or eyes off road, etc. of course that will result in heart attacks in the elderly.

as you say, exactly.

 

QFT.

Och.....we need more people like you.

 

Who said it was acceptable?

 

I was referring more to the high-tech part. I went ahead and deleted the part you're referring to.

 

I'm fine with the sound alarms, as long as they can be turned off because in NYCs dense traffic and worn out roads way too many false alarms set off, but automatic braking is a terrible idea and it's only a matter of time until someone gets killed in an accident caused by automatic braking and lawyers have a field day in court.

 

What some people also don't consider is that even if your vehicle panic-stops automatically, and the vehicle behind you also has the same automatic system that panic-stops in an emergency, that doesn't mean that rear-ender can be avoided. FIrst, It depends on how close that vehicle is tailgating you (though the system may not allow close tailgating). Second, it depends on the vehicle's design, layout, and tires. Suppose, for example, that you're in a mid or rear-engined Porsche...a vehicle known, because of physics and weight-transfer characteristics under braking, has extremely short stopping distances. If it suddenly jams on the anti-lock brakes, full-force, at 60 MPH, you might come to a stop in 100 feet...maybe even less. Meanwhile, that 6000-lb. Escalade or Navigator behind you, going at the same speed, even if its computer does the same thing and jams the brakes on full-force at 60 MPH, is going to take substantially longer (maybe 130 or 140 feet, depending on tire condition) to come to a full stop. Obviously, It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's likely going to happen....especially if there's no room for that vehicle behind you to steer left or right to avoid an impact.

 

I think it's good to have some feel/understanding for things...ABS is one example, there are many others. Once my wife backed the Lexus over a curb (the overhang), and she asked well why wouldn't the sensors tell me....I would say the curb is too low...and again I just don't think one should rely on a computer system solely...

I drove an electric car for the first time at lunch, that a colleague had on the extended test drive. It wasn't what I expected. No sound? 0-40 was fast. I saw these at the Y and always considered them clown cars, like the driver would have big shoes that go through the floorboard. Let go of the accelerator and it felt like extreme braking--I don't really even need the brakes, and wonder what the car behind thinks, decelerating pretty quickly yet no brake lamps...here's the kicker, $54k list, and colleague said it leases for $210/mo....hmmmm....I said I would never lease, but @ $210, that's 3 unplanned/impulsive restaurant visits...though he heard insurance is high...

 

Also, on the subject of ABS, make sure your wife knows that ABS, all else equal, simply by and of itself, will not stop the vehicle any faster....that's because the tires have only so much available grip and traction no matter what system is controlling them. What ABS does is to keep the wheels rolling (and not sliding) during the panic-stop, so that one still has steering control, and can, if necessary, steer left or right to avoid an accident.

 

Does anyone know of modern cars like the Buick Lacrosse or Buick Envision have this issue? How about 2018 models like the LC or E class Mercedes-Benz?

 

The latest (redisigned) 2017-2018 Lacrosse doesn't have the issue, because of its E-shifter and the fact that it automatically goes into Park, even if you don't press the Park button, when you shut the engine off and open the door to leave. That's why it has a special Car-Wash mode that you can activate to shut all that stuff down and let it roll freely through car washes with the engine either on or off. I don't have my new Lacrosse yet (still waiting for it)...but I intend to static-test the system a couple of times before actually trusting it in a wash, though, most of the time, I simply wash my cars by hand.

The Envision has a more conventional shifter. I did a review of an Envision several months ago, but didn't really check into the fine print to see if it had a similar system....my guess is that it doesn't.

 

How the hell are those hazardous systems even allowed on the roads?

 

 

Virtue signalling at its finest.