Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Charlie
I don't see "driver aids" in things like autopilot. I see "hey, lets take people already dangerously disengaged from driving and help them disengage even more."
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If they are already disengaged, then automated aids can only help. Sure, there will be those that disengage further and occasionally cause accidents, but there will be an overall net benefit from all the times it prevents an accident.
My worthless anecdote is that my Subaru was totalled at a red light when it was rear-ended by a kid in a truck that didn't even attempt to slow down. I had been stopped for at least 5 seconds when he impacted me, so it's not like I slammed on the brakes. I was also bumped a year ago in stop and go driving from someone not paying attention. Then my wife was backed into by someone not looking behind. Oh, and I was backed into by a neighbor not looking behind their stupid jacked up truck.
All of these could be prevented with relatively cheap automation on new cars.
Laws against people using their phones while driving or engaging in other distraction doesn't prevent people from being distracted. There is simply no other reasonable way to further reduce accidents by addressing human behavior, so the logical next step is to approach the issue from the automation side.