New car technology isn't necessarily a good thing

[Smooth]

It's funny; I remember a time when new cars didn't automatically come with SEATBELTS. These days, new cars have so much technology and so many gizmos that it takes a computer tech to know how to use everything!
While I'm sure people think it's really cool and all, I don't think all these things are necessarily a good thing. They're making cars now that have some radar-detecting feature of some sorts that claims it can predict an accident 2 cars in front of you before it happens.
Access to the web, phone calls, all that stuff are just more distractions that people don't need while operating a 2,000 pound projectile at 75 MPH!
I've been driving for about 25 years, and I didn't much like how people are on the roads and behind the wheel BEFORE all this stuff. People are always distracted, either with their **** cell phone or newspapers or other things and they don't pay enough attention as it is. Most are also afflicted with the "It won't happen to ME" syndrome. Not to mention all the old folks who probably should have stopped driving 5 years previously.
I don't want a car that does more thinking than the person operating the car. Most people are pretty arrogant about their imagined ability to drive in the first place. My own Father is a perfect example of that sort. He is convinced he is a superb driver, but in reality, any time I have to ride in his car, it is a white-knuckle ride that I'm never sure I will survive.
If he were to get a car with all these gizmos that claim to predict accidents and apply brakes when the car senses something before the person can hit them, back-up cameras and all the rest, I have no doubt that he would be killed in a wreck within a month.
What do you think? Does all this new technology help people drive better, or are they too reliant on it and this will make people worse on the road? Would you rely on your car to warn you of bad things about to happen more than you rely on yourself?
I just see a lot more accidents happening because of this stuff. Around here, with the way people drive in my neck of the woods, this is a recipe for disaster.
Thoughts?

 

[Han]

I guess it really depends on the person and the technology. Yes, some of the technology in cars can help - inside beeping when you're close to something for example is pretty helpful for many people. There's no images or moving objects to distract the driver, only a beep to warn them that they are approaching something which is effecting the sensors.

Though, even with all this technology to supposedly help them drive - people are unpredictable, and as a driver you should be prepared for other drivers on the road who are too busy with their technology, or should not be driving in the first place. Being prepared may cause you to break just that little bit earlier to avoid the accident, but how can you concentrate that much on the unpredictable when you're too busy relying on technology to tell you when something dangerous could possibly occur. Technology isn't to the point where it can think and suggest every possible disastrous outcome for you to look out for. Looking at a small screen is not going to help you look ahead in all directions and concentrate on every second, the road and other drivers - you never know when anything could happen.

Too much focus on something inside the car, instead of the road, most certainly isn't going to help anyone avoid an accident - whether the people who are selling the item say that it can predict an accident or not.

 

[Smooth]

people are unpredictable, and as a driver you should be prepared for other drivers on the road who are too busy with their technology, or should not be driving in the first place. Being prepared may cause you to break just that little bit earlier to avoid the accident, but how can you concentrate that much on the unpredictable when you're too busy relying on technology to tell you when something dangerous could possibly occur. Technology isn't to the point where it can think and suggest every possible disastrous outcome for you to look out for. Looking at a small screen is not going to help you look ahead in all directions and concentrate on every second, the road and other drivers - you never know when anything could happen.

THIS!!
Exactly what I'm talking about, Han. That's what scares me! Many people who buy into this kind of thing WILL rely on the car to warn them of things and pay less attention themselves. No technology or gizmo can replace the mind and reflexes of a person, and like you say, nothing they can make can predict every contingency. It takes an aware person to do that reliably.

 

[Ross]

Admittedly I have some tech on my car that I use (bluetooth, sat nav, parking sensors etc.) but I try not to rely on it. For instance I don't rely on the parking sensors for getting me into a space, I use it more as confirmation that I am right. Also I only use the sat nav's lane guidance as an advisory, as you never know if there is a software bug. Just because you have tech that can apparently do everything for you, you would be an idiot to 100% rely on it.

 

[Briscoe]

One thing I will never rely on is the sat nav punch in the post code only to find your a few miles out of the worksite or where ever your going (which happened to me once didn't help the office giving me the wrong ps though :L) One thing I will never live without is either my usb stick or ipod charger I can't stand the crap that's on the radio now a days.