I totally agree with "Design Guru" Don Norman’s opinion piece over at Businessweek. Modern cars are getting quieter, their controls and feedback more remote, as is drivers’ awareness that the machines in which they place so much faith remain subject to the laws of physics.
Alas, physics is a hard mistress. Perhaps critics of the 31:04 Transcontinental Run will come to understand that focus & alertness can make 100+mph safer whilst a careless 35mph can kill.
I’ve just ordered Norman’s book, The Design of Future Things
(Businessweek, via The Truth About Cars - Nice one, Frank.)
This is something I’ve been preaching about ever since I got my license. I’ve always said: To make American roads safer you have to first make a better American DRIVER, not a better American CAR.
Thanks for the good words, Alex. I know what I want for Christmas now!
That sounds like an interesting book that I should read.
The human mind is far superior to any electronic controled driver’s aid. Good forbid they mass produce computer driven cars. A frightening prospect…..
Alex you should take this car on your next “record”
or “just for fun” trans-con run…
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/1620930f-e9da-4e00-912c-99fc0127eb55.htm
…you know i thought the guy whom put his RV on cruise control thinking it was an autopilot while he went into the back to make a sandwaich was bad…imagine the retards whom are going to use this on a regular basis…
You know Alex.. you make a good point. In theory, a car that is going 100 mph can be more responsive under the hands of a controlled, experience driver. Whereas someone who is doing 20-30 on a city street could easily hit a child or other pedestrian because they spend too much time trying to figure what to do or they hit the horn instead of moving the vehicle out of the way. I believe that when you look into it, speeders are less likely to have an accident on a highway, than law-obeyer’s in city-limits. Of course, you can’t have EVERYONE driving at 100 mph or else this would totally defy the point of speeding and more accidents would occur than not. To make everything even, you have to balance the number of speeders and law-obeying citizens.
I don’t mind the speed limit as long as everyone is breaking it…that law where it’s ok to do 90 in a 45 if everyone is doing it…also what i’d really like is an even more difficult test for getting your license…or at least send everyone whom has received multiple tickets or has been in a least 1 accident back to take a more difficult test were they have to get 100 to pass or their license is revoked until they can pass the test…they gotta start giving more limited licenses and license plates…like some people sholdn’t be allowed to drive on the highway…
Great point; a point that I have made hundreds of times to my mother and has been the topic of more that one of my high school term papers. Cars are being made to cater to fools whom shouldn’t be allowed on the roadway to begin with. A more realistic and thorough test certainly seems the most direct method for clearing the roadways, but then we would be needing to spend some major money on public transit (that or people would actually spend the time to learn the fine art of driving safely and efficiently). Not to mention the fact that the majority of people on the roadway are of the “non-tech-savvy” generation and must make a concerted effort to seek the radio, let alone key in navigation. Lexus is the perfect example of a car that is catered to a population hell-bent on blocking out the sensory experience of the roadway… and curious that you (Mr. Roy) would choose an E39 over the new “perfect machine” (too much machine) M5… Keep it up Alex! I’m a big fan!
Dude, you didn’t just say “whilst” did you?
ALEX ROY RESPONDS: Yes. Yes, I did. And I’m not surprised that you’re the only one to call me out on it! Why haven’t you called me in two years? Is it because my taste in hifi sucks?
Don Norman is spot on with his comments. Excessive “safety” features in automobiles promote laziness and do nothing to reward a truly vigilant, alert driver. A VERY wise auto safety consultant once observed, during a televised interview, that the greatest safety feature in the world would be a metal spike mounted in the center of the steering wheel. Speaks directly to the point that protection is nowhere near as valuable as proficiency.