As some automotive safety expert have long suspected , late studies show thatthe more technology we have in our car , the bad we repel . And that includes cars ' infotainment systemsandactive rubber systems .
Combined , these factors add up to a circumstances more equipment driver pay a portion less attention to the road .
" The new engineering are sort of a double - edged sword , " Bill Van Tassell , manager of number one wood preparation programs at AAA , explain . " If they work properly and drivers use them in good order , there is a net safety benefit . If it does n’t act properly , or the equipment driver changes his or her demeanor , there will be a final departure of safety . "
freshly releaseddata from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationshows dealings deaths have increase from 2015 to 2016 — by 2.6 percent per 100 million miles driven . But those deaths were n’t due to distracted driving . Fatalities make by distrait driving are really lessen by more than 2 percent .
Even though distrait driving fatalities are down , the ascent in drivers not paying attention on the route is still a problem . correctly now , many drivers have access to some character ofautonomous driving technology , usually market as active safety systems , let in :
It ’s sluttish to imagine that the more of these systems are find out in any given auto , the less that a cable car ’s machine driver will believe it is necessary to pay off close tending to the road . Here ’s where the line gets blurred : fighting safety systems are supposed to be abackupto a driver ’s skills , to abuse in if the driver should make an error . Yet self-reliant and self - driving railway car technology implies , by its very name , that the driver wo n’t really have to do anything behind the steering wheel .
Another issue is that most of these systems are still comparatively raw and have only latterly begun to show up on low-cost , mainstream cars . That means a lot of consumer do n’t know how to use them yet . Further refine topic is that there is no body ( enforced or voluntary ) among the motorcar manufacturers , so these systems can lock very other than between different brands and mannikin .
Eventually , a true self - driving elevator car will use all of these systems and more , networked together to secure the motorcar never fall too close to neighboring dealings or other obstacles ; however , driver are still supposed to remain in restraint of the car . Since many equipment driver already show too much assurance in active safety equipment system , some safety experts worry that it will be hard to convince the great unwashed to ante up tending to the route in an even more autonomous vehicle .
Some expert suggest that standardizing safety technology terminology will help consumer understand what they ’re buying and how it really work , but Van Tassell think driver should focus on what they already have .
" You should know what your fomite ’s systems [ will do ] and what they wo n’t do , " he says . " You ’re the one convey the fomite on the route , so you postulate to be the one who step up and initiate that . "
While the ultimate responsibility lies with the machine driver , he says that motorcar manufacturer should also be proactive . " manufacturer need to create good information and training for customers , and their monger web who actually interact with the buyers want to make a secure religion effort to get that data across , " Van Tassel says .
As for the original question of whether our drive skills are deteriorating , Van Tassell is a morsel more affirmative . He points out that driver now need to find out how to use 20 or more new kinds of technology , so in a sense , our skill sets are expanding .
" I ’m not sure there is in reality a national eating away of drive attainment , " he says . " In fact , we ’ve seen a revival in training drivers safely in the last few years , so in upshot , drivers need to get it on more now than they did a few years ago . "
In the future tense , traditional driving skills may no longer be necessary , but fully autonomous cars are still a long way off . For the time being , driver should be ever more vigilant , and ensure they ’re using ego - driving technology as intended .
