Hot take: All uncool cars become cool given enough time
Given enough time, even cars that were total duds end up with devotees. Here are the reasons that uncool cars become cool with enough time.
Hot take: Modern car safety features are making us worse drivers
Modern car safety features undoubtedly save lives, but they’re also making us worse at driving. Both of these statements can be true at the same time, and I’m about to explain why.
I drive around 200,000 to 300,000 km each year in my role in vehicle acquisitions, and I see a lot of driver distraction on a daily basis along with bad crashes – particularly on the major arterials heading out of Sydney. Cars are safer than ever before, yet road deaths have been rising for the last few years. I’d argue that modern car safety systems play some part in that as overreliance leads to driver distraction and inattention.
Car safety systems can lead to complacency
It’s easy to see how you might drive a bit more casually when you have a whole list of safety features backing up your every move. After all, why not drive a little closer to that car in front when the Automatic Emergency Braking should kick in if it’s needed? The same goes for checking nearby lanes and blind spots. With cars getting smarter, it’s all too easy to forget we’re driving around 1-2 tonne machines that we really should control with care.
It turns out a heavily automated car can lead to drivers getting bored and starting secondary activities, even when they’re supposed to be watching the road. Research has found that drivers using advanced driver assist are almost twice as likely to engage in distracted driving such as checking their phone or eating a sandwich – and particularly so once they get used to the system.
This isn’t just a phenomenon on the roads, by the way. There are various in the aviation industry that suggest overreliance on automation is also a concern in the skies.
