Drivers aids

[martinthrapston]

What's your opinion on these items being fitted to cars and vans,personally I think it's taking away common sense when it comes to driving,I.e hill start,reverse parking etc,these are covered in driving test,can't do them you shouldn't be driving,what do you lot think,good or bad.....

 

[Sparx]

Hill start (or hill holder) I think you should only need in semi-automatics where you haven't got the use of a clutch for clutch control and its still a manual gearbox so unlike automatic gearboxes it doesn't creep forward. However I would always have the back up of using my handbrake on a hill start when going from brake to accelerator.
Parking sensors I think are a good idea for those who have just bought a new car which may be longer in length to what they are used to. Its all like you say to aid drivers - some of whom may have taken their test 30/40 years ago, when tests were a lot easier, some people may have taken a break from driving and may not have been behind the wheel for a few years.

I think all this modern technology is really good - and people should see it as an aid and not an insult. It also gives people less excuses if causing minor accidents "how the hell did you manage to reverse into my car when you've got parking sensors?"

Just my 2pence.. lol

 

[alexwilliams840]

depends what you want to use your car for.

for driving pleasure, less is more
for everyday driving, more is err more? they usually make driving easier and more comfortable

 

[PhilLew]

The problem is you come to rely on them too much and forget how to drive without them.
I have parking sensors on my van and threy're great, can park within an inch or two without looking, but several times I've found myself putting one of the cars into reverse and moving back waiting for the beeps to start (not hit anything....yet)

I also find that people who rely on sat nav usually have no idea where they are!!!
I drive around 50k miles a year all over Scotland and the north of England without the aid of a sat nav. The other guys at work all drive with there noses stuck to their sat nav screens and have no idea where they are or how near or far places are to each other and so can’t plan a route or change their route to avoid road works or congestion

 

[Sparx]

Oh i hate Sat Nav's. I try not to use them unless I'm going somewhere i've never been before. Then normally if i've been there once I can get there again without the use of a sat nav.

 

[zinc2000]

As most of above, aids are ok as aids, sadly too many drivers (and I use that term loosely) rely on them to keep them out of trouble.

My opinion has always been if you cant do without them you are not safe to drive, ABS, ESC Traction control etc etc will not keep you out of the hedge unless you learn car control as well.

As for sat-nav......totally agree that people who rely on them have not got a clue how to get from A to B without them, they will not have looked up from the screen long enough to clock land-marks let alone sign posts (fairly certain some delivery guys have NEVER looked at sign posts)

I did all of my 3 million+ miles as a professional driver with a map and common sense and that included going through and around central London with a 30 tonne truck at all times of day and all parts of the UK.

Use these things by all means but learn to drive and navigate properly as well please, might make all our lives safer

 

[trueblue]

Too much technology = Too much to go wrong = Too much to repair. Nuff said :lol:

 

[yippeekiay]

I could have done with reverse aid on the RX the other day when I found out what a bitch it was to park in reverse against the wall in our local multi storey. Couldn't see a damn thing (dirty rear window didn't help) so tried to stick my head out of the window, that didn't work as I'm more or less sat on the floor so I just guestimated how far back to go.

Bad light and a dirty window made it much harder than it should have been, had I had reverse parking aids I would definately have used it in this case.

Don't have either problem in an open car park so I'd say the aid has it's use. Especially where women are concerned :lol:

 

[yippeekiay]

As above I only use a satnav for a new place or somewhere I don't go very often. When I first got mine I did use it a lot as it gave me a good indication of my arrival time which was more important than the actual directions along with traffic updates to keep me on schedule at all costs

I usually know exactly where I'm going as I'm old school as in I use my head and read the road signs, but because I use a satnav sometimes does not mean I or anyone else is clueless....it is something that came on the market to help so I bought it. Like most things we use today....think about how our lives would be without most of them, from washing our clothes, feeding ourselves, travelling, communication or 1001 other applications that have been made simpler through advances in technology etc.

If driving aids get anyones goat then stop using anything else that requires an electric current to use and see how 'easy' your life is then :lol:

 

[XIIVVX]

Having experienced it on a couple of the (work) cars I have had to drive lately I think 'helicopter' or '360' view cameras are simply brilliant.

 

[warrenpenalver]

all these aids should be a good thing. And for good conciencious drivers they will be.

However most drivers are lazy, selfish or thick as pig shit so the aids will just be an excuse to concentrate less, become complacent and or lazy.

 

[chardy]

Sat Navs are a pet hate of mine, or rather the idiots that misuse them.

Its an MOT fail if you've got a chip in the wrong part of your windscreen because it affects your view, yet the amount of people you see with a 6 inch sat nav screen stuck to the windscreen right in their field of vision is ridiculous.

I wonder how many times we will here 'sorry mate I didn't see you' and the sat nav is the cause. :x

(is there a "I'll get my coat" smiley ?)

Rich.

 

[yippeekiay]

Yes there is......an 'I'll get my coat' smiley that is.

I'm sure someone will post it soon as I have no idea what the code is for it :lol:

:coat: - nope, not that.

:getmycoat: - or that.

:dontbangyourarseonthedooronyourwayout: - dammit, I was so hoping it was that one :lol:

 

[martinthrapston]

Have to agree the amount of people I see with a satnav fixed directly in front of there field of vision makes me wonder if they think they are in a video game and just using the satnav as a virtual road.
I did use a satnav a lot till 2yrs ago,mainly being a spare driver at the time,not knowing the area and having to do upto 50 multidrops in a day,it was easier for me than to be constantly looking at maps all the time.

 

[hotrodspike]

In my last job I used to use the sat nav for the last couple of miles, I could get to Airdrie of Falkirk or Sheerness, but I needed help to get to MacTavish Drive or Grumpy Old Fart Road, Middlesbrough. Hang on ain't that where Paul lives? :lol:

 

[oilburner]

Pace of modern technology, I can't remember the last time I needed to turn on my lights or wipers

 

[yippeekiay]

In my last job I used to use the sat nav for the last couple of miles, I could get to Airdrie of Falkirk or Sheerness, but I needed help to get to MacTavish Drive or Grumpy Old Fart Road, Middlesbrough. Hang on ain't that where Paul lives? :lol:

That sat nav won't help you mate, I don't live in Middlesbrough

 

[Dogsbody]

The wife's Toyota Verso has all the toys.
A couple of years ago when we had freezing conditions before Christmas I drove into a local B&Q car park which was like a skating rink...
The alarms went off and the car corrected the imminent slide Very very impressed.
I then went on provoking it and it just sorted out whatever I did.
Same on wet roundabouts, just cuts the power and applied the brakes.
Top of the range Toyota Verso , but very very good for a daily driver.

Me, ABS only, but I have never had that activate even on the racetrack .
but just in case :wink:

 

[The Arch Bishop]

My old Citroen had lots of auto-waffle. The auto lights weren't too bad but wouldn't account for fog (rendering the concept of auto lights entirely useless really) but the auto wipers were absolutely useless. They would go mental in light drizzle squawking across the screen for all they were worth and then give up entirely when the rain got heavier. There was no intermittent setting or quick wipe - useless. I spent more time faffing around turning it off and on than anything else.

My Subaru has a proper intermittent with adjustment and you can keep the lights switched on. When you turn off the ignition, they turn off. If you want to keep them on with the ignition off, there's a separate button. Makes so much sense.. I do love the hill hold though but you have to use the right sequence of clutch, gear and brake to engage it so you do have to think about it.

 

[hotrodspike]

In my last job I used to use the sat nav for the last couple of miles, I could get to Airdrie of Falkirk or Sheerness, but I needed help to get to MacTavish Drive or Grumpy Old Fart Road, Middlesbrough. Hang on ain't that where Paul lives? :lol:

That sat nav won't help you mate, I don't live in Middlesbrough

Sorry mate, I was just using the nearest of the three cities/towns in the norf, eg Middlesbro, Sunnerlund and Newcastle like!

Like there's only Manchester in the not quite north wet, and Birmingham in the midlands