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The recall didn't involve any physical change, it was a firmware update that engaged the parking brake when the transmission is shifted into park. This shifter

by athms 6y ago

The recall didn't involve any physical change, it was a firmware update that engaged the parking brake when the transmission is shifted into park. This shifter design came over from Mercedes, where it was used successfully. A motor vehicle is a heavy machine which requires proper operation because it can cause serious injury and death. This is no different than operating a forklift. People need to start taking responsibility for their actions. If folks don't read the operating manual and can't successfully operate a motor vehicle, they have no business driving.

ern 6y ago
I read (or skim) car operating manuals, but that's because I'm technically minded, and curious. I know a lot of people who don't bother, and haven't read a car manual in their lives: if they have "no business driving", there would be a lot less drivers on the road.
Breza 6y ago
All aspects of driving should be made as intuitive as possible, from the operator controls to the fonts on road signs. Adding more mental work makes a dangerous task even more so.
jiggawatts 6y ago
> can't successfully operate a motor vehicle That's a set of goalposts that move automatically to render any argument against it invalid. No matter how counter-intuitive, error-prone, or difficult the control interface of an automobile is made to be, you can always say: "Well, if you can't figure it out, don't drive!" Would you fly on a plane designed with this attitude? "It'll drop out of the sky if you accidentally bump anything, without a noticeable warning, but pilots that can't handle flying shouldn't be in the cockpit anyway!" But seriously: would you get on a 737 MAX without the MCAS fixed? Would you get in a 737 MAX with an unfixed MCAS a decade after the MCAS incident, when people have forgotten? With a new pilot that had never heard of the two specific crashes? Or would you insist in flying in a plane designed not to crash into the ground in ways that's counterintuitive for the pilots to deal with? Similarly, would you let your relatives drive a 2014 model Jeep Grand Cherokee that hadn't been recalled and had the parking brake changed to be automatic? Would you trust your Grandmother to check the tiny little light every time that will stop her dying, or would you take it to the shop for her so that she doesn't have to?

by athms 6y ago

ern 6y ago

I read (or skim) car operating manuals, but that's because I'm technically minded, and curious. I know a lot of people who don't bother, and haven't read a car manual in their lives: if they have "no business driving", there would be a lot less drivers on the road.

Breza 6y ago

All aspects of driving should be made as intuitive as possible, from the operator controls to the fonts on road signs. Adding more mental work makes a dangerous task even more so.

jiggawatts 6y ago

> can't successfully operate a motor vehicle That's a set of goalposts that move automatically to render any argument against it invalid. No matter how counter-intuitive, error-prone, or difficult the control interface of an automobile is made to be, you can always say: "Well, if you can't figure it out, don't drive!" Would you fly on a plane designed with this attitude? "It'll drop out of the sky if you accidentally bump anything, without a noticeable warning, but pilots that can't handle flying shouldn't be in the cockpit anyway!" But seriously: would you get on a 737 MAX without the MCAS fixed? Would you get in a 737 MAX with an unfixed MCAS a decade after the MCAS incident, when people have forgotten? With a new pilot that had never heard of the two specific crashes? Or would you insist in flying in a plane designed not to crash into the ground in ways that's counterintuitive for the pilots to deal with? Similarly, would you let your relatives drive a 2014 model Jeep Grand Cherokee that hadn't been recalled and had the parking brake changed to be automatic? Would you trust your Grandmother to check the tiny little light every time that will stop her dying, or would you take it to the shop for her so that she doesn't have to?