4 ms·

Well, I have to imagine features like auto emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, and many more have saved countless lives AND prevent

by badRNG 5y ago

Well, I have to imagine features like auto emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, and many more have saved countless lives AND prevented many accidents. I know they've saved me personally from an accident.

clairity 5y ago
no, those things simply lower the skill floor of driving as well as reduces attention/focus, which is the opposite of safety. all things being equal, less attention causes accidents and makes them more severe, and greater skill prevents accidents and lessens severity. some of those "safety" features can cause accidents because they counteract rather than complement the measures of a skilled driver.
- mulmen 5y ago
  Safety features reduce cognitive load and allow reallocation of limited attention span. Take the example of (airline) autopilots. Or in the case of a car lane keeping and radar cruise control. The driver can reallocate the cognitive energy used for precise steering input and throttle control to situational awareness, further improving safety. These features improve safety, even (especially!) in the hands of competent drivers.
  - clairity 5y ago
    > "Safety features reduce cognitive load and allow reallocation of limited attention span." no, attention does not magically get more focused on driving by reducing already low cognitive load. most driving is already routinized, falsely lulling us into an illusory sense of security. humans do not magically get more attentive under routine when invited to be even more comfortable. autopilot is a great example: pilots eat, sleep, drink, read, and chat more, rather than paying more attention to the environment, controls, dials and gauges. this is also why traffic calming techniques that reduce overall danger are about making the ever-present risks more apparent (adding roadside trees, narrowing lanes), rather than the opposite. those so-called "safety" features optimize for the 99% of the time that situations are routine and fine, rather than the 1% of time that they're potentially deadly, because they reduce skill and experience useful in those 1% situations. pilots talk about the same general lack of emergency preparedness induced by autopilot dependence.

by badRNG 5y ago

clairity 5y ago

no, those things simply lower the skill floor of driving as well as reduces attention/focus, which is the opposite of safety. all things being equal, less attention causes accidents and makes them more severe, and greater skill prevents accidents and lessens severity. some of those "safety" features can cause accidents because they counteract rather than complement the measures of a skilled driver.

mulmen 5y ago
Safety features reduce cognitive load and allow reallocation of limited attention span. Take the example of (airline) autopilots. Or in the case of a car lane keeping and radar cruise control. The driver can reallocate the cognitive energy used for precise steering input and throttle control to situational awareness, further improving safety. These features improve safety, even (especially!) in the hands of competent drivers.
- clairity 5y ago
  > "Safety features reduce cognitive load and allow reallocation of limited attention span." no, attention does not magically get more focused on driving by reducing already low cognitive load. most driving is already routinized, falsely lulling us into an illusory sense of security. humans do not magically get more attentive under routine when invited to be even more comfortable. autopilot is a great example: pilots eat, sleep, drink, read, and chat more, rather than paying more attention to the environment, controls, dials and gauges. this is also why traffic calming techniques that reduce overall danger are about making the ever-present risks more apparent (adding roadside trees, narrowing lanes), rather than the opposite. those so-called "safety" features optimize for the 99% of the time that situations are routine and fine, rather than the 1% of time that they're potentially deadly, because they reduce skill and experience useful in those 1% situations. pilots talk about the same general lack of emergency preparedness induced by autopilot dependence.