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[Technology] Question for drivers







BrianB

Sleepy Mid Sussex
Nov 14, 2020
482
Camera and screen too remove the blind spot caused by door/windscreen pillars could save plenty of accidents.
 




Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,263
Uckfield
I would like to see new cars have CD players in them. No need to have taken them out of most new models surely.

My Prius has a CD player in it. It gets used so rarely it may as well not be there. Which means all it is is extra weight. Extra weight means more fuel burned. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but over the lifetime of the car all those little bits of weight that don't need to be there add up.

Edit: I don't mind them being optional extras for those who want them, mind. Just prefer they aren't a default feature.
 


Notters

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2003
24,889
Guiseley
Dashcam, the standard of driving has deteriorated dramatically since lockdown imo. Too many people in a rush and driving too fast, they either have the reflexes of an F1 driver or are just *****. I know which side of the fence I’m on. A dashcam means you have concrete proof of the cause of most accidents

Auto lights that also go full beam and dip, really useful imo

Blind spot monitors in the wing mirrors, no more looking over your shoulder when overtaking

Automatic lights are one of the worst things that have ever happened to driving, in my opinion.
Now virtually no-one seems to put their lights on in fog/rain, coupled with the fact everyone has a grey car.

In fact, a lot of the automatic features in cars get on my tits. Don't get me started on automatic windscreen wipers.
 




Greg Bobkin

Silver Seagull
May 22, 2012
16,033
Best new(ish) ones for me are heated steering wheel, a decent head-up display and active cruise control.

Sadly, a lot of the new technologies are either too clever for their own good, or don't work properly: gesture control; some voice activation systems and lane keep assist to name just three.
 




Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
7,108
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!
The best new feature for me is the automatic main beam dipping thingy. It's a magnificent inovation.
 






Wrong-Direction

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2013
13,634
I bought a used car last year and was amazed with the heated seats / automatic lights, window wipers..

Sent from my SM-A326B using Tapatalk
 


WATFORD zero

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 10, 2003
27,766
When my kids were small (25 years ago) the car I had used to put the seat, rear view mirror and side mirrors into 'my' positions when I clicked my remote, and into Mrs Wz positions when she clicked her remote.

I thought this was amazing until Mrs Wz discovered that if she pressed her remote whilst I was driving, I would be driving with my knees under my chin, not being able to see anything in any mirrors within seconds, much to her amusement :facepalm:

Her most recent car turns on the heated seats and steering wheel if the temperature is below a certain level, which I find far more acceptable (and safe).
 




jessiejames

Never late in a V8
Jan 20, 2009
2,756
Brighton, United Kingdom
Camera and screen too remove the blind spot caused by door/windscreen pillars could save plenty of accidents.
The truck I'm currently driving has mirror cam, however the mirror is positioned exactly where u are saying the blind spot is. They take some getting used to, but starting to like them not sure if I want them on a car though as a replacement camera is expensive.
 


BrianB

Sleepy Mid Sussex
Nov 14, 2020
482
The truck I'm currently driving has mirror cam, however the mirror is positioned exactly where u are saying the blind spot is. They take some getting used to, but starting to like them not sure if I want them on a car though as a replacement camera is expensive.

I think they'd set a phone style camera in the outer side of the pillar and a screen blended into the inner side of the same pillar, it could work either continually or fading in and out at lower speeds like junctions. I think somebody is already developing something similar.
 


Technohead

Active member
Aug 10, 2013
193
Burgess Hill
Despite my Mondeo coming up towards its 14th birthday I still love it's adaptive headlights. Going up and down Ditchling Beacon in the dark is an absolute breeze.
 




Fungus

Well-known member
NSC Patron
May 21, 2004
7,155
Truro
Latest: a phone app to turn on climate control 10 minutes before you drive off in the morning (a bit like central heating)

Previous: keeping the car in my garage works well for me
 


Barham's tash

Well-known member
Jun 8, 2013
3,728
Rayners Lane
Adaptive cruise control is excellent. Drove to Seaford from
NW London couple of weeks ago going A40/M40/M25/M23/A23/A27 and the first time I had to actually take back control was at the Lewes A27 roundabout.

As for other luxuries I couldn’t function without now Apple play, Automatic lights and windscreen wipers are high up the list plus HD reversing camera and parking sensors.

All this stuff really does now mean if you see pratish driving behaviour these days it’s simply that the driver is a prat and not some simple mistake IMHO
 


jessiejames

Never late in a V8
Jan 20, 2009
2,756
Brighton, United Kingdom
Adaptive cruise control is excellent. Drove to Seaford from
NW London couple of weeks ago going A40/M40/M25/M23/A23/A27 and the first time I had to actually take back control was at the Lewes A27 roundabout.

As for other luxuries I couldn’t function without now Apple play, Automatic lights and windscreen wipers are high up the list plus HD reversing camera and parking sensors.

All this stuff really does now mean if you see pratish driving behaviour these days it’s simply that the driver is a prat and not some simple mistake IMHO

Again I have adapted cc in my lorry, I have to turn it off, seems to pick up shadows, first time I used
cc with it on nearly went through the windscreen because it came on when nothing was near me.
 






trueblue

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
10,954
Hove
Another thumbs-up for Adaptive Cruise Control. Takes some of the frustration out of the stop-start M25 crawl.

I’ve had a couple of the phantom braking incidents but don’t think they’re the ACC.

My cars got ‘brake assist’ or something which detects stationary vehicles and automatically puts the anchors on. It got spooked by a parked motorbike once in a car park and went for a full emergency stop. But on the plus side has also prevented me shunting a car on a roundabout that started to pull away, then didn’t go.

Also find that function, or maybe the ‘lane assist’, can be confused by big lorries, so tend to rest my foot on the accelerator when I’m passing those, which over-rides it.
 
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