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Is Vehicle Safety Technology Going Too Far?

Might We End Up Encouraging An Ever-Reducing Level of Thought Among Drivers?

And If So, Will This Result In Merely Shifting The Cause Of Crashes?

Editorial by Eddie Wren 

April 14, 2005

According to research from various highly-motorized countries, driver error is a contributory factor in at least 90-95 percent of all crashes and the huge number of resultant casualties.

In recent years, the growth of safety technology has played a major role in reducing casualties. It is, of course, one of the three primary "E's" of road safety: Engineering, Education and Enforcement, albeit that that the engineering category also includes road design, not just vehicles.

But is it possible for engineering to progress so far that it undermines the apparent need for driver education and training? And if so, will the benefits gained from new safety designs completely outweigh any such "dumbing down" of drivers' abilities and responsibilities, or will it lead to a generation of drivers so stunningly incompetent that they will simply create new variations on the theme of crashes and dead bodies?

Making a progressive shift from drivers being responsible for safety to vehicles taking over that same responsibility may be questionable in terms of maximum, public protection. Maybe, one day, travel in personal vehicles may become the thing of science fiction movies, where there aren't even any controls -- one would merely tell the car "Take me to Mom's," or wherever, and one would be delivered in total safety. But until that day arrives it seems possible that the interim period may be laced with potential problems.

There is, of course, also the question about what happens to these new, ultra-safe cars as they age. It is a fact of life that older cars get sold further and further down the socio-economic ladder as they lose value, and it should be obvious that people at the lower end of the financial spectrum may neither have the money nor the inclination to properly maintain safety systems that are in their vehicles. But if we have by then allowed the nursemaid aspect of advanced vehicle safety systems to be seen as an alternative to proper driver training, then crashes and casualties will increase once more. 

The catalyst for this editorial opinion piece was a press release from one of the world's leading safety innovators: Continental Teves. (View the press release here.)

It is essential, however, to stress that Drive and Stay Alive is entirely in support of the massive safety engineering gains that have emanated from Continental and other leading companies. Many of their innovations are truly remarkable.

But in their April 14 press release -- among details of some very worthy new additions to their armory -- Continental give details of two features that in some ways should make any halfway-decent driver cringe:

Hill Start Assist (HSA)

Starting a manual shift vehicle on a hill can be a challenge. With Hill Start Assist (HSA) taking off on a hill from a standstill is made easy, even for inexperienced drivers. When the driver's foot moves from the brake to the gas pedal, HSA maintains the brake system pressure for up to 1.5 seconds, releasing the pressure smoothly as the car accelerates. The driver has plenty of time to control the gas pedal and clutch, ensuring just the right amount of torque at the rear wheels for a smooth, skillful hill start. HSA prevents the car rolling back without frantic operation of the parking brake.
  

Soft Stop Assist (SSA)

We all know the situation: Just before a car comes to a complete stop there is an abrupt jolt. Experienced drivers can often avoid the jolt by letting up on the brake pressure at the last possible moment. The Soft Stop Assist function of the MK60 E5 remedies this situation automatically. It recognizes that the vehicle is coming to a halt and reduces the brake pressure at the rear wheels just before it stops, allowing the vehicle to settle smoothly.

Frankly, Drive and Stay Alive disputes the fact that "starting a manual shift vehicle on a hill can be a challenge." That can only be the case for somebody who has never received adequate basic training as a driver or somebody who has received training but remains thoroughly incompetent as a driver. This is basic stuff, and we respectfully suggest that if a hill start is any form of challenge to a person who has allegedly passed a driving test, it is a reprehensible reflection on the state of driver training in the country concerned. Furthermore, to do an uphill start in a manual transmission car, a driver's foot should never even be on the brake pedal in the first place, so we are puzzled by that reference in the press release.

Stopping a car without rocking one's passengers back and forth in their seats is a similarly basic skill, and to be fair, no half-way-competent driver should need technological assistance to maintain passenger comfort in such circumstances.

Clearly, neither of these two innovations is in any way harmful as they stand, but we would argue that in the USA, for example, there should be great emphasis on increasing the requirements of the driving test, in order to increase the standard of driving to match that found in many other countries. It seems perverse that the genuine wonders of modern technologies that undoubtedly make our cars safer may occasionally also encourage lazy or thoroughly incompetent driving.

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Eddie Wren, the writer of this editorial opinion piece, trained as a police advanced driver and advanced motorcyclist, and served as a traffic patrol officer in his native Britain. Apart from investigating a large number of crashes, in that role, he was also hand-picked to work full time giving talks to students in senior schools, colleges and apprentice training centers about safe driving and safe motorcycling. After leaving the police, he became a civilian driving instructor and was swiftly promoted to supervisory instructor. He was subsequently asked by lawyers to carry out crash investigations and was later invited to become the managing director of an advanced driver training company. After moving to the United States, he founded Drive and Stay Alive, Inc., a section 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that has already won two major international recognitions for its unique work in collating and publishing International Road Safety News. He is also the vice president, and director of policy, at Advanced Drivers of America, Inc.