High-tech Cars Replacing Driver Skill?

Nick writes "What happens when you take a bunch of average drivers, put them in a car with no high-tech systems like anti-lock brakes and traction control, and ask them to drive on a safety test track? 360-degree spins, of course. And not only do today's drivers need ABS and traction control to keep their cars under control, it also turns out most drivers can't even name the high tech safety systems that are continually saving their butts. And to make matters worse, carmakers plan to install automatic radar-based blind-spot checkers so motorists can avoid looking over their shoulders while changing lanes. Even geeks find some of these technologies scary, including Wired's Bruce Gain, who drove Mercedes' S-Class with automatic braking."

Some work in this area

[Samir Gupta]

I work in the R&D division of a major Japanese video game corporation. Some members of my research group have been working with major Japanese automakers (whose identity I am not at liberty to discuss at the moment) to apply concepts learned in video game design to driving cars. Instead of a cumbersome set of multiple controls, we are experimenting with a single two-axis controller, one axis controlling acceleration and braking in the up-down direction, and the other controlling steering in the left-right direction. Gear shifting is mapped to the start and select buttons. We're experimenting with a number of control devices, from the Power Glove to GameCube controllers as input effectors.

We believe that this research will lead to much more drivable and intuitively controllable autos, especially for a generation of drivers raised on video games, and will cause fewer accidents on the road, due to the intuitive nature of the control mechanisms and the ingrained neurological psycho-response actuations which have developed from extensive game playing. It will further open up driving to those who may not have all limbs working, but as long as one has thumb control, driving will be accessible to all. I look forward to seeing this coming revolution on the commericial market.

This begs the question...

[Slackrat]

Did drivers ever really have skills in the first place?

In other news...

[Anonymous Coward]

High-tech planes replacing pilot skills
High-tech seat belts replacing stuntman skills
High-tech calculators replacing math skills
High-tech screwdrivers replacing screwing your freaking wrist to death skills
High-tech phones replacing screaming really loud skills
High-tech shovels replace digging dirt with your fingers skills
High-tech whining replaces err.... wait... no people are as good at that as ever

The one feature I want...

[Anonymous Coward]

I need a "get the &#^$ out of my way" button that works on the self-absorbed asshole yapping on his cellphone while driving his enormous SUV 52 in the 65 passing lane and backing up traffic for a mile behind him! I push the button, he moves his ass over and life goes on.

Well, I guess a rocket launcher would do, too.

Some other good camparissons...

[ayjay29]

The good ole' BBC has done some interesting comparisons involving Automobiles, which the Google heads have kindly made available on line:p>

Old vs New is here [google.com].

But my favorate by far is Play Station vs Real Life here [google.com].

Re:One that wasn't mentioned here:

[Phariom]

...anyone who knows how to drive shouldn't crash.

Exactly! Thank you, Darwin.

Re:I DON'T like to drive

[Tim C]

There's a system available that allows you to do that now - it's called a chaffeur. I believe the "ding" sound is an optional extra, though.

Re:no punchcard skill == computer illiterate!

[TubeSteak]

Things I own that have a manual choke:
Riding mower
Tiller
Chainsaw
Weed Whacker ...that's about it

I guess your 1977 Honda is a bit like my riding tractor. Does it have a turtle and a rabbit to represent how fast you're going?

1950 called

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be even better if I could step into my car with a latte, cell phone, and laptop, ask the car to take me to the airport, and read slashdot along the way. My guess is that it will happen within 20 years.

1950 called. It wants its prediction back.

Oh Dear

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

I am 17 (and I wish morons would not judge by age) and I have not a licence, but I can drive a 1969 GTO without any of this modern bullshit implemented and perfectly(even a 1994 Chevy Beretta)

From Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]:

The Pontiac GTO was an automobile built by Pontiac from 1964 to 1974. It is often considered the first true muscle car.

Oh dear. the article goes on to mention that the 1969 model had a 400 cubic inch engine, which is about 6.4 litres, a size usually reserved for cargo trucks and airplanes. Someone has seen it fit to place such an engine into a two seater vehicle weighing less than one ton.

You can apparently drive this vehicle. However, I would go so far as to say that the ability to drive such a hotrod in no way prepares anyone for driving modern 1.1 litre hatchback runabouts, equipped with ABS, safely through town.

If people cannot drive without traction control or ABS (minimally) then they should not be able to drive at all. Driving a motor vehicle is not difficult.

And if people cannot drive with such systems, as was a frequent occurance when such systems were first introduced?

Getting a vehicle in motion is not a difficult process. Driving on the other hand is a very, very difficult skill which a great many people simply never achieve. Driving includes both the ability to move the vehicle and obey the rules of the road. It's the second part that most people have trouble with, not the first.

Any ass can get a 7 litre hotrod up to 200kph. But it would take a demi-god to use the beast on work, school and grocery runs for 10 years, in heavy traffic, with no incidents.

Some that I know still can't drive at all even with safety features and such... it is truly sad

Some people that I know have fifty times more time behind the wheel than I do and still cannot drive. They can get the car in motion in a paticular direction, but they speed, don't signal, brake lights, cut across lanes and generally put their lives more at risk than I ever will, despite the fact that my driving time is measured in hours and theirs in weeks.

My key point here is that people often mistake the ability to "move" a car for the ability to "drive" a car. They are very different things. Someone can still be a reasonably good "driver" without having fully mastered the ability to get the car in motion.

Re:who cares?

[TapeCutter]

"It would be even better if I could step into my car with a latte, cell phone, and laptop, ask the car to take me to the airport, and read slashdot along the way."

Exactly what I want, public transport without the, errr, ummm, public.

Re:automatic breaking?

[0123456]

I believe the English car manufacturers mastered automatic breaking of their cars years ago: simply starting the engine was often enough to make my old Rover break. I'm surprised that Mercedes would want to reduce their reliability to the same level.

Re:who cares?

[Weedlekin]

Indeed. In other news, those who are used to modern radios had trouble building and using crystal sets, women that grew up with gas and electric stoves didn't get the same cooking results from a wood-fired ranges, and people used to buying ready-made houses weren't very good at killing animals and chewing their skins to make tents.

Re:who cares?

[kabz]

Do you *really* mean mussel memory, or are you going to clam up on me?

Here's a linkie to Spongebob's drivers license [animationartgallery.com] if you do live under the sea.

Re:who cares?

[6Yankee]

Don't be so shellfish.

Blind-spot Schmind-spot

[Ranger]

carmakers plan to install automatic radar-based blind-spot checkers so motorists can avoid looking over their shoulders while changing lanes.

You're supposed to look over your shoulder? Hmmmm.. Well, I always tell my passengers if they don't like the way I drive, close their eyes.

Re:who cares?

[sdpuppy]

Traction control has been in high and low end cars for quite some time. Even the lowly Saturn comes with ABS (optional) since the early 90's.

You need to be modded insightful - the fact the drivers felt comfortable probably added to the spinouts etc.

But then again, back in my day, brakes were optional - when we had to slow down, we waited for a hill (or scrapped a few trees. And we ENJOYED spinnning on the ice (origin of "lets go oout for a spin!")

Mussel memory

[kutuz_off]

I think the concept of mussel memory is a great idea. Mussels multiply prodigiously, and often live in clusters. If we could somehow use those mussel colonies to store information...why, the possibilities are endless. Maybe we could finally learn to communicate to dolphins.

Re:who cares?

[Cro Magnon]

But then again, back in my day, brakes were optional - when we had to slow down, we waited for a hill

Not me. I just stuck my big foot out the door and stopped right then. Tore up a lot of shoes back then.

Re:who cares?

[mrball_cb]

How about traffic lights transmitting their light cycle and current condition to all close automobiles so that they can adjust their speed to always hit the green light.

What if you're five cars behind the lead car that's slowing down so that it hits the intersection right as it turns green? Do you get warnings saying that your speed is suboptimal? Or does your system accept the consequences of being sixth in line and just relegates itself to the fact that it will have to make it through the intersection long after it has turned green or that it won't make the next green cycle (those few damn fast green lights)? What if the lead car is malfunctioning and going too slow, does your car start honking the horn and flashing a big middle finger laser image in front of the lead car?

Call me a pessimist, but I don't expect any system that takes control away from (if it cannot be presented as "giving power to") the driver will be accepted by the public unless there is a seperate set of lanes that those vehicles will drive on.

Re:who cares?

[Reziac]

Actually, I knew someone who had a VW like that, no shit. To stop it he'd gear down hard, then open a door and drag a boot. It also had a rope tied to the windshield wipers (you yanked it back and forth), a long stick replacing the gas pedal, and some other, er, creative parts. Needless to say it hadn't been inspected in a while :)

Re:who cares?

[Mateito]

Aggression level and overall attentiveness come in to play a lot where driving is concerned.

That's why I always smoke a couple of joints and snort a line of speed before pulling out of the driveway.