Car Safety technology: Norm's Take
A slew of new technologies are coming out to make driving safer. This is my take on them.
Radar which stops you from rear ending the car in front in traffic:
This is fantastic. Its debut was with Volvo, fitting, so that all the soccer Mom's and dim witted drivers dont ram me in the ass when I am parked somewhere under Boston. I am a big fan of this one, though if you are one of the drivers who thinks it might be worthwhile to shell out an extra $1,000 for this, you probably should not be driving.
Cameras which tell you I am in your blind spot:
I could count the times that someone almost swerves, actually you cant call it swerving, lazily drifts into me on an almost daily basis. Route 2 in the morning, check. Route 2 at night, check. On any long drive (especially through CT), this is guaranteed to happen at least once. I am looking forward to this one.
Rearview Cameras:
Unless you work at a preschool, this should not be a safety consideration. Nonetheless, I will include it here. If you are among the 90% of Americans who dont know how to reverse, this should be a good one. If you drive a big SUV - I can see the justification. From the front, the back of my expy was in a different zip code. If you drive a Lexus.. well.. you drive a Lexus.. enough said.
Cameras which tell you when you are changing lanes:
The idea here is they beep at you if you have not used an indicator. This is a good thing. Also, I am of the firm opinion that these should be mandated on all narrow highways (the Merritt comes to mind) and on craptastic little roads like Fresh Pond Parkway and Soldiers Field in Boston - too bad the lane markings are so bad on those the cameras would probably not work. Also, I think these should be mandated for drivers 70 and up.
Brake lights that strobe when braking hard:
These are good. I thought about it a while ago (having some kind of low/hi for brake lights), and then Mercedes came out with the solid/strobe setup. I am a big fan. I count myself as one of the few drivers who pays attention not only to who is in front of me, but who is behind me as well. Years of driving a tank (Expedition) aggressively do that to you.
Cruise control with radar to follow the guy in front:
Means that all the gapers in the left lane will go exactly the same speed. I HATE when they all go the same speed. It is getting me pissed off just thinking about it. If you are not passing someone, get the hell out of the left lane you lazy bastards. The only good thing about this is that maybe, just maybe, they will be paying so little attention that when I blow by them on the right then cut them off, they will forget to angrily accelerate and try and stop me.
Radar which stops you from rear ending the car in front in traffic:
This is fantastic. Its debut was with Volvo, fitting, so that all the soccer Mom's and dim witted drivers dont ram me in the ass when I am parked somewhere under Boston. I am a big fan of this one, though if you are one of the drivers who thinks it might be worthwhile to shell out an extra $1,000 for this, you probably should not be driving.
Cameras which tell you I am in your blind spot:
I could count the times that someone almost swerves, actually you cant call it swerving, lazily drifts into me on an almost daily basis. Route 2 in the morning, check. Route 2 at night, check. On any long drive (especially through CT), this is guaranteed to happen at least once. I am looking forward to this one.
Rearview Cameras:
Unless you work at a preschool, this should not be a safety consideration. Nonetheless, I will include it here. If you are among the 90% of Americans who dont know how to reverse, this should be a good one. If you drive a big SUV - I can see the justification. From the front, the back of my expy was in a different zip code. If you drive a Lexus.. well.. you drive a Lexus.. enough said.
Cameras which tell you when you are changing lanes:
The idea here is they beep at you if you have not used an indicator. This is a good thing. Also, I am of the firm opinion that these should be mandated on all narrow highways (the Merritt comes to mind) and on craptastic little roads like Fresh Pond Parkway and Soldiers Field in Boston - too bad the lane markings are so bad on those the cameras would probably not work. Also, I think these should be mandated for drivers 70 and up.
Brake lights that strobe when braking hard:
These are good. I thought about it a while ago (having some kind of low/hi for brake lights), and then Mercedes came out with the solid/strobe setup. I am a big fan. I count myself as one of the few drivers who pays attention not only to who is in front of me, but who is behind me as well. Years of driving a tank (Expedition) aggressively do that to you.
Cruise control with radar to follow the guy in front:
Means that all the gapers in the left lane will go exactly the same speed. I HATE when they all go the same speed. It is getting me pissed off just thinking about it. If you are not passing someone, get the hell out of the left lane you lazy bastards. The only good thing about this is that maybe, just maybe, they will be paying so little attention that when I blow by them on the right then cut them off, they will forget to angrily accelerate and try and stop me.
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