Detaching the Driver From The Car

[St Landrew]

I'm old enough to have owned a car without servo-assisted brakes. It was my first, an Austin Mini. It had drum brakes all round which, if not set up correctly, wouldn't pull up unless you hit the brake pedal with the force a sledgehammer. And then you were quickly into new wheel cylinder kits. When they were in good condition, the braking was pretty good, accurate, and had plenty of feel. After only a couple of goes [southampton remember, so no proper winter each year], I could brake quite well in snow and icy conditions, without locking up. The first time I touched the brake pedal, on a wet road, in a servo-assisted car, I nearly slammed into the bloke in front because practically everything locked up. There was little feel. I was being detached from direct control of the car. Of course, I quickly got used to it, but then nearly wrapped myself around a lamp post when turning a corner in my first power assisted steering car. I couldn't sense any feedback from the tyres - but then I got used to it. ABS is a good thing, I know. But there's a part of me that hates it. It makes me lazy, and it can fail, which means I'm back to my skill, which has to be practiced. And with ABS, it isn't.

 

There's going to be heaps more of this stuff in the future. Car safety devices have really turned the corner, so to speak. Already, according to Mercedes, we really don't need the driver anymore. And in the near affordable future, if we combine all the systems, we could dial in our destination, sit back, pick up the newspaper, and let the car take us to the door. While in the meantime, the newsprint gently rubs itself onto our noses as we nod off. Excluding the present enthusiasts, what's the betting that driving becomes an optional hobby for the average motorist within 10 years..?

[CabbageFace]

95% of people "drive" to get somewhere, not because they enjoy it, it will be like i-robot or any other film like that.

 

It will be left to go to a track to expreince proper driving, like it should be really.

 

Sports cars dont have a place on the roads (i own one ish) and all i do is tend to push the car to its limits if its quiet, because i like to feel the rush, which is bad, and im sure everyone has done this, alot of the time this is when a accident occurs

[St Landrew]

95% of people "drive" to get somewhere, not because they enjoy it, it will be like i-robot or any other film like that.

 

It will be left to go to a track to experience proper driving, like it should be really.

 

Sports cars dont have a place on the roads (i own one ish) and all i do is tend to push the car to its limits if its quiet, because i like to feel the rush, which is bad, and im sure everyone has done this, alot of the time this is when a accident occurs

 

I could quibble about the exact percentage, but I agree with what you say CF. There are times when I still enjoy driving, although it does tend to be very much in the minority of the time. Motorcycling is another thing altogether. You don't have to break any speed limits to enjoy bikes, but it occasionally helps..! Perhaps it's because bikes are SO directly connected to the elements, that there is where the enjoyment really lies.

 

Btw, I thought of I, Robot when writing the original post.

[Ponty]

When they taking the pleasure of driving on the quiet country roads around my neck of the woods I don't know what I'd do.

 

Unfortunately, the poor buggers who live with rush hour traffic on a daily basis will understandably allow science to take over, what is to them, the chore of driving. I just hope it always remains optional - at least for a good few years yet.