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Old 3rd November 2021, 08:59
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Interesting article.

As the EU's experts suggest, this will be a major breakthrough in road safety and I'm all for it!

My main reason for that, of course is that I have no plans to buy a new car for the foreseeable future

For those of you who do wish to buy a new car though, just think, instead of having to do all that bothersome 'paying attention' to what's going on around you when you're driving your shiny new two and a half tonne Vulva SUV, you can simply sit back and relax, keep the pedal to the metal and fully concentrate on trying to fathom the settings on your super glossy, 20" touchscreen infotainment system that the manufacturer has provided instead of a couple of simple analogue knobs to turn the radio up or adjust the cabin temperature. How cool is that?

Too cool, probably. Or maybe too hot as I'm buggered if I can work the A/C in a modern car without prodding tiny touchscreen buttons hidden within sub-menus with one hand while holding the vehicle instruction manual in the other.

Just like all the other drivers on the road, you'll be able to mentally switch off from the outside World safe in the knowledge that your car's Intelligent Speed Assist will keep your bank balance and driving licence safe by ensuring you don't get a speeding ticket. Of course, if an inattentive pedestrian steps into the road from your left while an HGV swerves towards you across the white line from your right, surely you can trust your car to make the right decision as to how it should react?

If it decides to sacrifice you and your family's lives to save the pedestrian that must be for the greater good, right?

So, I see a future where all this fantastic in-car technology will reduce collisions and road deaths to absolute zero, as it's not like the technology could fail and misidentify a road sign or potential hazard, is it?

Oh, I just found this article about a couple who were fined for driving their car in a bus lane...

https://youtu.be/bjb2N8kPSL4

As a former Police Officer with years of experience in dealing with road traffic collisions I can say with some authority that speed is only one contributory factor in causing road traffic collisions.

The major factor which leads to collisions and road deaths is the plain old poor standard of driving, which ranges from mere inattention behind the wheel to deliberately dangerous and stupid acts.

In my view, taking away control of the vehicle from the driver and giving it to autonomous electronic systems will result in more people driving carelessly and increase collisions and fatalities on the roads of Europe, not reduce them.

With all this new tech being made compulsory, I'll be keeping my old fashioned analogue cars for as long as I can legally drive them on the road as I'll need all my attention to avoid new vehicles that aren't in the control of a human being.
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