Am I geting old (-fashioned)?

"Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll) 11/17/2013 at 19:13 • Filed to: None

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My stepded called me this evening asking if I still had "that polishing stuff that removes scratches" around, and if he could come over. Turns out he had a little mishap in an underground parking garage. Front facing parking sensors won't warn you of pillars if you are reversing!

I got out the heavy stuff I used to get rail dust off my car, and it's almost invisible now. Sorry, I should have taken my phone with me to get before/after pics, but I forgot. Just imagine a black E61 BMW with a very white front bumper/wing on the driver's side.

But it got me thinking! It's not he first time that I had to polish stuff off one of his cars. His first E61 was a real electronic nightmare, it was fully loaded, but one of the gizmos would fail every now and then. Among them the parking sensor thingy, so he would hit stuff regularly.

I just think that all of these electronic gizmos that are there to help us, make us kind of dumb in return.

A rodent once killed my ABS, and although I learned to drive in a non-ABS car, I felt quite lost without this system that I got used to. And when my family got it's first car with a remote for the power doors, I caught myself running into the front door of our HOUSE pushing something. I almost bumped my head learning that a house is not a car.

So do these electronic gizmos make us worse drivers?

I'm all for ESP and the like, as it once saved me from embarrassing myself. Without it, I would have had to return an E39 BMW with at least some misalingment issues, or even worse once. (Wet roundabout and me wanting to get that "BMW Feeling" just a tad too early!)

But are these systems (which I think are good BTW!) making us unlearn driving skills?

TheOnelectronic > Klaus Schmoll 11/17/2013 at 19:17

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That's interesting. Here in the states, rear parking sensors are common, but front-facing ones are much more rare. I've never heard of a car -only- having them in the front.

Maybe it's because I still switch between cars frequently, from rental cars that I should be happy have headlights to high-end luxorockets with magical top-down camera views that allow you to precisely place your car with perfect situational awareness, but I have no problem parking without the helpers despite having rear sensors+camera on my daily driver.

desertdog5051 > Klaus Schmoll 11/17/2013 at 19:22

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How old is Stepdad?

Klaus Schmoll > TheOnelectronic 11/17/2013 at 19:25

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It had rear facing parking sensors as well. It's more about relying on them too much. "If it doesn't beep, or show up red on the screen, I can go for it."

Therealminigearhead > Klaus Schmoll 11/17/2013 at 19:26

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I just think that all of these electronic gizmos that are there to help us, make us kind of dumb in return.

very true, my dad crashed his m3 while I was in it because while backing out of the driveway, he was in neutral with the shifter in the reverse position (manual car). the reverse beepers didn't turn on because the car considered him to be in neutral while he felt like he was in reverse, rolling down a small hill. Now there is a deep 4 inch dent in the rear bumper and it makes me sad every time I look at it :(

Squid > Klaus Schmoll 11/17/2013 at 19:26

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Well I do think the gizmos are useful in some situations, but nothing is better than training yourself to have situational awareness. If I had a big F350 and towed stuff all the time, a rear camera would be useful for lining up the trailer, but really I don't understand the people who rely solely on a camera or those little sensors that go beep when they reverse.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Klaus Schmoll 11/17/2013 at 19:26

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Yes, those systems are indeed allwing us to become far worse drivers.

It's nice to have them as an added safety measure, but they have become the entire measure in some people's minds.

Look at how often we see people have blindly followed the instructions of a dumb program couple with a sultry voice giving them directions when if they had bothered to think about what they are seeing through their window, they would not have driven into oncoming traffic, onto the train tracks, into the ocean, off a cliff, etc.

These systems should only be allowed as an added measure. People need to understand that, and sadly they are only being sold on them in a way that makes them beleive they can turn off their training and rely on this system to save them from their own stupidity.

We need have an annual re-certification program in the US, for both vehicles and drivers.

Squid > Squid 11/17/2013 at 19:28

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Oh and I must point out that I do think all the mandated traction control and ABS and stability control are making people worse drivers as it is making people less responsible for how they drive.

Klaus Schmoll > Therealminigearhead 11/17/2013 at 19:31

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Yep, just this stuff! People waiting for the BEEEEP instead of looking around and using basic spacial awareness.

davedave1111 > Klaus Schmoll 11/17/2013 at 19:34

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"A rodent once killed my ABS, and although I learned to drive in a non-ABS car, I felt quite lost without this system that I got used to."

You're not supposed to drive an ABS-equipped car if the ABS isn't working. They normally have significantly more rear brake-bias, and rely on the ABS to compensate. Non-ABS-equipped cars have a more forward brake bias so you're less likely to lock the rear wheels and spin out.

Klaus Schmoll > desertdog5051 11/17/2013 at 19:41

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63 and he is very fit. Keeps up with his running/cycling routine much better than I do!

No old-age problems there for now. These are just the usual things that can happen to the best of us. (And even more so if we rely on the beeping too much.)

He will be tough to talk out of driving though, once he really gets to that age. But I still have at least a decade or more, as he is still in tip top shape.

Klaus Schmoll > davedave1111 11/17/2013 at 19:48

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I got it fixed as soon as I could! I still had a few days without it on slushy snow.

SpeedSix > Klaus Schmoll 11/17/2013 at 21:32

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Mostly unrelated, but in Japan and Hong Kong, vans usually use parking mirrors instead of parking sensors. For the front, you could look out onto a mirror which would reflect onto your bumper and show how close it was. For the rear, you could look out your rearview mirror to your rear bumper mirror which would reflect and show you how close the rear bumper was to obstacles.