When a person has trouble walking on their own, a cane or a walker – even a wheelchair – may be necessary for them to get around. But canes and walkers and wheelchairs are unnecessary for people who don’t have trouble walking on their own – which is why you rarely see people who can walk on their own using them.
“Advanced Driver Assistance Technologies” – as the automotive equivalent of canes, walkers and wheelchairs are styled – are another matter. People who can drive on their own are presented with electronic canes, walkers and wheelchairs ostensibly meant to help them drive. To “assist” them with parking, steering and braking – all of which the “technology” presumes every driver needs “assistance” with.
Italics to emphasize the fact that some drivers don’t.
It used to be most of them – because it was once expected of them. Not in the cultural sense – though that’s certainly true, too. Rather, in the literal/legal sense – in that in order to secure a driver’s license, an applicant was once-upon-a-time required to demonstrate that he could steer and brake and park a car without “assistance.” One of the road tests an applicant had to pass in the Before Time was parallel parking a car, without Park Assistance Technology, often on a hill (if the ride-along evaluator was determined to suss out whether the applicant had the skill to drive and deserved a license confirming this).
All applicants were expected to demonstrate that they could control a car, as by keeping it within its travel lane – without Lane Keep Assistance. That they knew how (and when) to apply the brakes, to slow the car safely without Brake Assistance Technology.
Today, it is mostly a written test
Italicized to emphasize that “drivers” are no longer expected to demonstrate that they can do that in order to get a government ID (which is what a driver’s license has de facto become, in the era of Advanced Driver Assistance Technology).
Now, an interesting thing has a developed as a result of all this “assistance.” It is dependence, arising from deliberately inculcated incompetence. When people are not taught how to drive – how to competently perform even basic maneuvers such as parking a car and keeping a car within its travel lane – they become dependent upon “technology” to “assist” them. Just the same as a person who is capable of walking on his own will eventually become dependent upon a cane or a walker or a wheelchair if he is made to use those things. If – as a toddler – he is forced to rely on such things, he may never learn how to walk on his own, unaided.
But what happens if the cane or walker is suddenly taken away?
If the wheelchair breaks?
That is what happens – essentially – when Advanced Driver Assistance Technology stops working. The person who has become dependent on “assistance” to perform the most basic driving maneuvers is left without the “assistance” he has become dependent upon.
Now what?
This can happen without warning – in the middle of a drive, even. All it takes is some ice (or snow) to blind the cameras that are a critical part of the “assistance” technologies that steer/brake and even park a car for a driver who cannot handle that on his own. The “assistance” goes offline.
What then? 
Well, the driver is on his own. The problem is he may not be competent to be on his own, having been rendered dependent on “assistance” technology. This is a problem compounded by adverse conditions such as ice and snow, which require more rather than less skill to safely handle. But the “assistance”-addled driver lacks even basic skills – such as those necessary to parallel park a car in ideal conditions – having never developed them. What will he do when conditions are far from ideal – and he must be able to handle more than parallel parking?
He will probably not be able to handle such conditions.
What then?
More like what’s coming, probably.
When driving conditions aren’t ideal – when it rains or snows – there will be driving lockdowns. It will be argued that not closing down the roads when it rains it snows is a safety risk – because the Advanced Driver Assistance Technologies millions of drivers are being trained to depend upon might not work in the rain or snow.
And this is entirely true.
What’s also true is that it would not matter, if drivers were not trained to be dependent upon Advanced Driver Assistance Technologies, for they would be competent drivers. They would be able to compensate for conditions. They would have developed such skills as feeling traction through the pedals and steering wheel and learned how to modulate throttle and steering inputs to maintain control of the vehicle on slick surfaces.
The problem there, of course, is that such drivers are not dependent – and so are not afraid of dealing with conditions. Because they can. And because they can, they do not need government busybodies to “keep them safe” – and they know it. This in turn causes them to resent being busybodied by government. Capable adults do not like being parented as if they were idiot children – which is not only how government views them, it is how government wants them.
This is what Advanced Driver Assistance Technology is really all about. The purpose isn’t to “assist” people. It is to infantilize people. Government wants capable drivers like government schools want critical thinkers.
The end goal is Total Passivity because it engenders Total Dependence. It leaves the victim unable to think for himself – or to drive for himself. And people who cannot do such things are people who require “assistance.”
And guess who’ll assist them with that . . . ?
. . .
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Oh my Lord, you have got to be kidding me?? People up here would lose their minds if they had to shut off their vehicles just to open up the gas door when filling up their gas tanks during the cold Winter months. And all that “dinging” noise while trying to drive? That would be enough to drive a person insane. Who wants to listen to that crap while trying to avoid the plethora of idiot drivers out there?
Something like this must have happened with my ’23 Mazda CX5 today, with 8,200 miles on it, for the first time. It was raining with a few flakes mixed in and suddenly a warning came up on the dash, something about radar not working. Being old, I had no clue what it was.
I got to my destination a few miles later, shut it off, restarted, and the warning was gone. I drove it all of last winter in much worse conditions, and it never did that. Also, on the way home today, I noticed an orange light in my sideview mirror, a warning of some sort, I think about a car next to me on the 4-lane highway.
I don’t know why, after one full winter and over 8k miles, it suddenly started doing all this crap. I hate all of it, and dread how much worse my next car will be. I want my ’68 Camaro back.
[…] Guest Post by Eric Peters […]
Your Vehicle Is Spying On You, And Now They’re Going To Start Installing ChatGPT In New VW Models
Be careful what you say while you are driving your vehicle, because you are being watched. Today, we live in a giant surveillance prison in which virtually everything that we do is being monitored, tracked, recorded and analyzed. In this day and age, you should just assume that nothing that you do is ever private. When I was much younger, if I really wanted to have a private conversation with someone I thought that taking a long drive with that person was a great way to do that. But those days are long gone.
The walls are closing in on the slaves…..
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/your-vehicle-spying-you-and-now-theyre-going-start-installing-chatgpt-new-vw-models
We live in a panopticon
The panopticon is a design of institutional building with an inbuilt system of control, originated by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. The concept is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single security guard, without the inmates knowing whether or not they are being watched.
Although it is physically impossible for the single guard to observe all the inmates’ cells at once, the fact that the inmates cannot know when they are being watched motivates them to act as though they are all being watched at all times. They are effectively compelled to self-regulation.
If you read up on cyber security people, most of them will not have a computer in their house, and many won’t allow a cell phone in either
……. the slow creep…the day you may have to input coordinates of your planned trip and if your car disagrees you stay home. Or programmable pre approved .gov trips to the .gov school or store to spend pre approved .gov $
Someone decided to suicide by cop after running over a woman (rumored to be his daughter) in Dayton on Monday:
https://www.13abc.com/2024/01/10/video-shows-moments-truck-crashes-lands-ohio-police-cruiser/
“Police need to be able to remotely disable a vehicle!” Think of the children… or the thin blue line… or whatever excuse they can come up with. Never mind that these incidents are so rare that they become national news -or just news in general. But here we are. Because everyone just stares at screens that crop out the dull and routine parts of life we end up thinking these incidents are common.
Eric,
This article of yours reminded me of the movie, “Demolition Man”. There’s a part where John Spartan sees a classic Olds Cutlass in some museum, and he “borrows” it. Once he’s inside, he says, “Now THAT’S more my style!” He was accustomed to, and preferred, the old tech cars to the new ones in modern San Angeles… 🙂
I found an interesting take on the increase in pedestrian fatalities in America – thought I’d leave it here:
“So, what we see is that the pedestrian death rate went up more among those for whom it was already worse. This is another example of the Matthew Effect often seen in the social sciences:
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”
https://www.takimag.com/article/pedestrian-logic/
Lee, I had a similar predicament taking the capital exit off I-440 in Raleigh, NC. I take the exit, around the curve are two people in dark clothes in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. They were moving but not hustling. I agree that much of this increase in pedestrian fatalities can be chalked up to mentally retarded pedestrians.
Pussifed North America it’s in epidemic highs. The boogie man is always near.There are no fewer crashes with all this tech buffoonery My youngest asked me if was hard to get a drivers license here in Nova Scotia. My reply…. take a look around, as we were driving
The worst thing about every modern car….ADAS….
an ADAS hater….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqIdpcGFrzc
Paying for defective junk….
This ADAS crap doesn’t even work very well at all….should be a law suit….
At night it is almost useless in detecting pedestrians…more will get killed….
Another lawsuit needed……EV range promises are bs…..
Quote: “Jan 9 (Reuters) – Tesla has lowered driving-range estimates across its lineup of electric vehicles as a new U.S. government vehicle-testing regulation takes effect with the goal of ensuring that automakers accurately reflect real-world performance.
Tesla has historically issued range estimates that overstate what its cars can deliver, prompting widespread complaints from customers, according to some automotive testing experts and a Reuters investigation last year.
What’s even worse than the systems not working is the systems working incorrectly. Ice-covered camera “detects” something right in front of you even though there’s nothing within sight, slams on the brakes on ice, you spin and hit the guard rail, over the cliff into who knows what. Or you’re navigating some slippery, icy, road and the wheel jerks to one side because the camera “detects” you’ve crossed the center line, sending you into a spin across the center line into a semi. All sorts of fun scenarios to imagine when you’ve got a half blind wheel and pedal grabber as a co-pilot.
Where are these cameras located, anyway? Built into the headlight assembly? Behind the windshield? On the external mirrors? There’s not many places they can be and still be “useful”. Would some properly applied duct tape completely blind them?
This has already happened many times –especially– with Teslas which are festooned with cameras there are nine cameras in total. Two in the B pillars between the driver/backseat doors. One in the rear by the license plate, two in the front quarter panels, 4 in the mirror assembly, three forward facing, one that watches YOU the driver at all times.
In another baffling Elon move, Teslas also have LIDAR which is a rock solid and old tech. When Teslas were using LIDAR in combo w/ the cameras things worked pretty well because you have multiple systems looking for consensus on “what is an object”. Elon in his infinite wisdom released a mandate to disable all LIDAR on all models because “human beings don’t have LIDAR”. He wanted the car to drive as people drive. But umm… its a CAR not a human so give it every advantage it can get. But not for Mr. Ego so against the advice of many of his top engineers he disabled the LIDAR system remotely.
Hilarity ensued soon afterwards. The car would ‘see’ objects that weren’t there, so incidents of phantom breaking increased massively many times with the accidents it caused to go with it. Cameras were also awful at judging distance when distorted whereas with LIDAR helping they could get a good grasp of distance/speed. So now we are -hitting- objects (Almost some children in some cases) that were distorted by cameras misinterpreting data. Flashing lights also confused the cameras, so Teslas had a really bad habit of plowing into emergency vehicles too. 🙄
Again, all of this could be avoided if the one egomaniac had actually listened to the mechanical engineers he hired.
The cameras on my Toyota are in a module behind the rearview mirror, bonded to the windshield. The module is a $1200 part new, and even Rain-X on the glass in front of the sensor may result in a warning light appearing on the dash with a message about the camera system failure.
I turn all of the “assistance” off, but the light still appears.
Big Brother (or Sister … or They) is always watching.
Our local mountain pass is now closed many times during winter, usually not the weather but the wrecked morons that can’t drive in 2” snow. “I’ve got traction control! I’ve got all wheel drive!” Famous last words as they spin off into the median many time upside down as well. 40 years ago a pass closure was very rare, this is a major interstate so commerce depends on it staying open to make schedule. Sorry fellas, you’re sitting for at least half a day while the dozen or more wrecks are cleared out.
These systems breed complacency as well as short circuiting any advanced skill development. Countersteer into a skid, whuut? I’ve mashed the brakes why isn’t it stopping? Let Jesus take the wheel – probably better odds!
The upside of the push for EVs is that no one will try the mountain passes in snow due to range anxiety.
My in-laws don’t try the pass over the mountains between CA and OR on I-5 in their Tesla Model X in sub-40 degree weather because, until recently, Superchargers weren’t available between Cottage Grove (?) and Grant’s Pass. Medford has the hardware now thanks to Target leasing a piece of their parking lot, but that town is HQ for the Lithia dealer group so getting the permits took time.
If Cottage Grove sounds familiar, that’s where the parade scenes in “Animal House” were filmed. “Remain calm … All is well.”
“Six steps to Kevin Bacon”…..:)
until recently, Superchargers weren’t available between Cottage Grove (?) and Grant’s Pass.
Tesla’s “Superchargers” are ludicrously slow as well, despite the misleading name suggesting they are fast, which we know they are not, since fast chargers do not actually exist.
I’ve witnessed the same thing Sparkey. it’s gotten way worse the past 5+ years.
And I’ve sat for hours sometimes.
And why my very capable 4×4 with snow tires and a locking rear can potentially help to get through back mountain roads around the idiots, if I’m willing to risk it.
Self driving, digital, EV, defective garbage…..
Why EV ‘utopia’ has become a living hell – for carmakers and EV owners
With no government subsidies….no sales…
Car manufacturers sprinting away from EV’s….lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIpipeUI6zw
That ADAS circle of safety pisses me off, because I see it on a weekly basis in presentations from automakers.
Traditional “car guys” are old or dead at this point; people like Lee Iacocca, Bob Lutz, Csaba Csere, or Carroll Shelby.
Today’s car designers and engineers have been raised in the safety cult from childhood. Their memories of riding in a car as a child are of a rear facing child seat with 4-pt harness, then front facing child seat until they’re like 8, then a booster seat. Cars are dangerous things to be feared. So, to them, improving safety is the most important part of development, cost, looks or efficiency be damned. Government requires this too, via crash tests becoming increasingly more stringent.
As a results oriented engineer, I’m not into virtue signaling, I like to see results. If I wanted to decrease the accident rate significantly, the fix would be quite simple – a cell phone jammer connected to the master power switch. No jammer = no drive. People are driving totally distracted, and covering that up with electronic nannies, as you said Eric, is no reliable fix.
The car safety cult has also made cars more difficult to drive. I have a hard time seeing over the tall hoods, tall sills, over tall trunks in order to accurately place the car. In some of the newer cars, I _need_ the park assist or side cameras to park the damn thing near the curb, or in the middle of a parking spot. I have a bunch of cars, because I like cars, and two of them are Subarus, which in addition to being capable cars, have retained great visibility and I don’t need cameras to park them. They’re the last of a dying breed, though.
The massive A pillars and the claptrap hanging around the rear view mirror makes deadly blind spots. I had a 2005 Grand Cherokee that was really bad. At 6’1” I had to develop the habit of ducking down looking under the mirror around the pillar at in town stops. Nearly pulled out into crossing traffic and a pedestrian several times.
Best for visibility was my 79 Pontiac. Two door GrandPrix, thin A pillars, thin mirror mount plus a mirror adjustable way up high. Two door cars low belt line equals great side and peripheral visibility. As a tall guy I loathe 4 door cars with that side pillar next to my head. Eric still has this advantage when driving his Firebird.
Yeah, those A, B and C pillars got massive because cars must be designed to support several times their weight on their roof!
Yep, they ‘real world test’ those pillars here locally every week! It always puzzles me how a low slung sedan ends up on the roof in the middle of the freeway. A run off the road into a steep sided median yes, but what the hell happened in the middle of the pavement? Sheesh. Must be the malt liquor ‘40s give them magical driving powers.
My 2023 Peterbilt has a thing called Variable Speed Limiter. It limits my speed according to whatever I set it to. If the speed limit is 55, I can set the limiter at 55 and then just floor the pedal and the computer will meter the fuel and use the engine retarder to make sure I don’t go over the limit I set. It’s great bc the boss doesn’t have to yell at me as much now that I don’t exceed the posted speed limit as often.
But you can bet your sweet bippy that this tech is coming to a car near you. Only with cars it won’t allow the driver to set limit. No, that will be set automatically according posted speed limit.
A new BMW X5 we drove in Wisconsin in November refused to allow cruise control to be set for a number greater than the posted speed limit for the road. Of course, it was still possible to exceed the speed limit with the gas pedal or by manually incrementing the cruise speed after pressing “Set”, but for how long?
Beyond the cruise control, the BMW was a twitchy car. The “fly by wire” shifter frequently skipped ‘R’ and ended up in ‘D’ unless we were careful, and, on one cold morning, the passenger door refused to unlock from the remote or the electronic control.
This will be a “feature” very soon I fear. When Tesla did their big “recall” a month ago because the NHTSA was up their ass about Autopilot they put some stealth features into the update. One of them, which annoys the piss out of me is exactly what you describe.
Arbitrary limitations on the “where & how” you can use Autopilot (read: cruise control). So now if some government bureaucrat says that you can only go 5mph over the posted speed limit on a certain stretch of road, Tesla pulls this data down in real time. You are going 60 mph now on a road most people are going 70+ on. You can like it, or like it a lot. This will become so draconian I think that only people who literally don’t know HOW to drive will be using cruise control, and other ADAS features which is exactly what they want basically. A herd of compliant sheep putting along at 55mph in synchronicity.
I was also told I literally -can’t- used Autopilot (cruise control) on other roads for arbitrary reasons. “Rain” being one of them. Imagine the hubris & arrogance to declare that rain should disable some of your vehicles features. In the future we will all be caged, compliant, docile, and most importantly VERY safe.
Which is why I’m actively in the process of leaving this sinking ship. There are still places in the world where freedom is valued. The US is not one of them, and sadly, much of the West isn’t much better.
Hi Anon,
In re: “Which is why I’m actively in the process of leaving this sinking ship. There are still places in the world where freedom is valued. ”
Without divulging the specifics of your situation, could you tell us where you’re thinking would be better? I’m at a loss, myself.
Think about Mexico. Thinks are cheaper and laws are taken with a grain of salt – if enforced at all. And you still have visiting rights if you want to see friends in the USSA.
Way back when Jesse Ventura moved to Mexico, he claimed that paying the bribes to be left alone there was cheaper than his tax bill in the US.
Doug is on the right track. Lots of expats in Mexico, Costa Rica, etc. The almighty dollar (for now) still buys a lot of access.
In my particular case, I’m headed to Eastern Europe by way of Italy. I have the ability to get birthright citizenship in Italy and have been working on this for a while now since it was very clear to me we will be in the Soviet Union sooner rather than later.
This board is like many LOTS of bitching, little action. People will grumble all day but are happy just doing that day after day. I am not. I have no intention of becoming a hated minority in my own nation. Yes, you shouldn’t be out taking direct action because like the poor J6 suckers, you -will- be made an example of. But you can make plans to simply remove yourself from the equation which is my intent.
There will be a time in our lifetimes, when you -can’t- leave, I intend to be ahead of that curve. Once all the productive people tire of being tax cattle and start looking for the exits, it will be too late by then and you’ll be trapped.
My ultimate destination is Hungary but that could change. I have some connections to there too and its one of the only EU countries that hasn’t completely lost their mind. Which is why the demonize Prime Minister Orban so very much.
Italy’s prime minister Meloni is also very right leaning though she has backed off a bit since being elected probably under pressure from the EU bureaucrats.
You can also do very well in Southeast Asia and even on a very moderate US income you can live quite well there.
Most of the rest of the world is less of a pain in the ass on a day-to-day basis.
No they don’t have freedoms codified like we do. But. The taxes are usually lower and the cops are more likely to leave you alone, unless you are disturbing the peace.
They also don’t have the culture of disobedience, disdain for sithority, and rebellion that America does.
Sean Hross is a PHD historian, he spends all his time spreading information about the nobility, slave owning control group.
I emailed him, asking him where to go to get away from these bastards….he said you can’t….there is nowhere to escape to…. prison planet…..
Maybe somewhere poor and backward, that can’t afford the latest surveillance technology?
Patagonia, a place to go when the exodus goes to Plaid.
Alaska is a good possibility, north of Anchorage has some killer forest and habitable land.
A Swiss chalet shipped from Switzerland constructed in Banff will keep you a long ways from harm.
Plus, Lake Louise has some outstanding scenery.
Colorado is too crowded, along with California, Texas, Florida, nobody goes there anymore. Snowbirds in Arizona are there watching the Sandhill cranes and waiting for oranges and grapefruit to ripen, time for some Mexican cuisine.
The sundogs are intense today.
The Eastern Seaboard is a No Go Zone.
The only “assistance” any of my junk has is power steering…….Govco can KISS My ASS.
Re: parallel park test
My blue state still requires a parallel parking test.
Since we’re on a farm, kids can get their ‘farm’ license one year earlier than the masses, which is 16 vs 17. Both my kids wanted it bad.
The catch is they had to do the test in the ‘farm’ vehicle only. which in our case is a 18ft long beater regular cab chevy w/8ft bed. And the test area is pretty tight. Gotta be perfect.
ohhh boy, how they gonna do that. You can’t even touch the cone or see-ya. and the local testing gestapo is trying hard to fail ‘the special farm kids’.
Surprise! my daughter passed it first go and she’s 5ft nothing, could barely reach the peddles. my mouth dropped ‘wholly crap, she did it perfect’ my son, 6ft, touched the cone, fail…………, passed next time.
Good dinner table conversation still.
“When driving conditions aren’t ideal – when it rains or snows – there will be driving lockdowns.”
You are probably, and most unfortunately, prescient on this, Eric.
That is also a horribly disgusting and disgraceful photo (man-baby). What in the Christ with people?
God gave Man dominion over the four-legged creatures. Problem was He gave no one dominion over the two-legged creatures. The psycho’s among the two-leggers decided they would take the job when they discovered how easily led most others were. They called this government and put themselves in charge. The sheeple happily went along thinking how nice it was that someone cared for them not understanding they were paying for all of it in several ways.
All the devices to make the cars ‘safe’ made a many psycho rich beyond belief. All the psycho’s had to do was say it was for the sheeple’s safety. The green energy, the solar panels the wind turbines, was to save the planet from the sheeple’s dirty ways while those in the manufacturing and those in the financing were becoming wealthier than they ever dreamed.
Like Calvera said to Chris (1960 Magnificent Seven,,, “If God didn’t want them sheared he wouldn’t have made them sheep.” This is exactly government think. In fact there was little difference between Calvera and today’s governments. Chris showed Calvera he was wrong but many died proving it.
Maybe closure of roads during inclement weather events is the way they’ll go? Wife goes up on Skyline Drive a lot for hikes, and the Drive is closed at the slightest hint of snow/etc. My guess is they dont want to maintain the road during these times. (Lazy, save $$, no people avail, etc.) Easier to close the entry gates rather than keep the road open.
So, yes, akin to the “driving lockdowns” mentioned in the article
Hi MDP,
I have ridden Skyline Drive Canon City Colo hundreds of times and I think that given modern day peoples inability to drive slippery conditions, maybe it is a good idea to close that road during ice or snow. No guardrails, one way traffic, hundred foot drop off on both sides. I know I wont ride my bicycle up there in the rain, snow or ice. See you at the bottom, (steepest part of the road ending with a stop sign.
“You pass it, you’re good to go”
And you need not work to improve your driving skills, forever and ever. Amen.
Might as well forego a purchase and not even think about it.
You’ll be safe from the safety abyss. You’ll be out of the doldrums.
As soon as the calf exits the chute and runs into the rodeo arena, it gets lassoed within seconds. You’re roped in and led back to the corral.
If it’s Pecos Bill, you don’t stand a chance.
We’re from the government and we are here to f*ck it all up, just like Joe does at any given time.
They’re always pulling that stuff. Needs to stop. They, the gov, just don’t count anymore, they’re in the way all of the time. An animal needs to be tamed, not let loose to do all kinds of damage. Israel fits the description, defines what they are doing, the filthy animals they are proving themselves to be. What they have wrought won’t be forgotten all that soon.
See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!
Don’t want your ox gored. Too much of that everywhere.
One day long ago, my dog Killer, best cur you’ll ever see, faced off with a 2000 pound Black Angus bull who was in the middle of a field, on the loose. The Malinois cross long-haired Labrador retriever herded the bull back home, circled it, the bull had to move to and did. You gotta do what you gotta do.
Enough of this bull! 65 pounds of canine trumps 2000 pounds of bovine. har
Killer could think for himself. You can do!
Always was game to run for 15 miles or more. Could outrun deer and fox. It was amazing to watch such a feat. Of course, foxes are more agile and quick, they can out-maneuver a dog. The deer would split up and the dog couldn’t catch them at any rate. Now and then, he would start to circle and nip at my heels.
Be crazy like a fox, just like my dog Killer was.
Winter is here now, no flies, no mosquitoes, no bugs, cold and snow is what you get.
Killer could think for himself. You can do the same.
Have to correct something about it.
Dyslexia strikes again.
The vehicle mile fatality rate had been trending downward since 1930. It had fallen from about 5 deaths per 100 mvmt in the late 1960s to around 1.7 by the late 90’s. Today, it is around 1.5. That is up from about a 1.25 average from the late 2000’s to 2014. Fatalities started trending upward when energy became cheap again and the newer car designs with the high beltlines and small window openings added to the vehicle mix. The largest category jump in fatalities has been pedestrians. This is despite “traffic calming” and large frontal areas on cars to supposedly blunt the impact on pedestrians. The jumps in the long term trends are tied to the changes in the car designs as the 2007-11 car designs entered the vehicle mix. The number of pedestrian fatalities jumped from 4600 in 2000-09 time period to 6300 averages after 2010. Today, since 2020, the number killed is a staggering 8300.
Taking out he pedestrian fatalities, the rate has stayed the same. It should have been dropping with the all the saaaaafety tech, right .
The answer is that the safety tech is killing people. I can’t quite prove it, but all indications point to the FMVSS implemented beginning in say, 2008.
You’re probably right about vehicle design contributing to pedestrian accidents, but I’ve also noticed that so many more people walking around these days are simply oblivious to what is going on around them. Many are busy texting or even just talking on their phones, and then there are those simply blunder out into the roadway (where there are no crosswalks) and I suppose they expect drivers to stop.
I’ve come close a couple of times to hitting both pedestrians and one time a cyclist just driving around the small town I live near. The cyclist just popped out from an alley (he had a stop sign while I did not) going at a good clip but luckily I was able to stop my car literally a few inches from him. The pedestrians were just wandering across streets at night wearing dark clothes and I didn’t see them until I was almost on them. One was walking along a very curvy country road where there is no visibility to what is around the corners. I wasn’t doing much more than 40 (the speed limit) and I came around the corner and there was this man walking in the road. It was late in the evening so heading into twilight, and luckily there was no oncoming traffic and I was able to swerve into the other lane.
It seems to me that a pall of stupidity has descended upon so many people. I was always taught to look both ways before crossing a road and if walking, to walk against the direction of the traffic. And when I walked at night, I always carried a flashlight that I turned on so that it could be seen by approaching vehicles. I swear the lack of common sense is also killing a lot of pedestrians.
Hi Lee,
I wonder in that situation where you had to swerve suddenly to avoid the moron in the road if a car with “Lane Keep Assist” would stop you from doing that quickly enough to avoid hitting him. Bring on the lawyers.
What’s appalling is how most pedestrians DO NOT LOOK around them at all; they’re not at all aware of their surroundings! They just walk out into the street or parking lot in their own, little worlds…
Some very good points. And for the record there’s going to be a fuel door manual release somewhere in the back of the Hornet, but who wants to deal with that just because the recommendation is to shut off your engine while refueling? Because remember that time that idiot left it in gear and her car rolled away…
The FAA’s pilot training devotes a chapter or two to decision making and judgement, physical state and attitude. The “five hazardous attitudes” Anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, “macho,” and resignation, all come into play for just about everything we do in the world. Thing is, 90% of the time, driving is normal and routine. It isn’t hard. But when something does happen, many drivers, especially those of us who’ve been going along without incident for decades, fall into the trap of blaming their hazardous attitude. If you’re going to slot yourself into one of those attitudes you’re pretty much going to admit “pilot error” is the root cause. “You shouldn’t have gone out” will be the ruling from the insurance company, “because the sensors were inoperable. Why didn’t you pull over when the dash indicators lit up?” And many people will just accept blame, because some authority said so. And if you argue, well, that’s just proof that you’re exercising bad judgement, being anti-authority.
A few accidents with inoperable sensors and pretty soon the power on diagnostic test will fail meaning your vehicle won’t start. If your front bumper gets coated in mag chloride slush your “driver assist” will force you to take the next exit? Better keep rags and coveralls in the trunk so you can clean off the car all winter.
Snow and ice don’t mix well with the optical systems enabling a lot of the assistance “features”, but the sensor modules are cheap as is software developer time, relatively speaking. And a lot of patent royalties are there for the taking.
BTW, I wouldn’t be surprised if the “adult baby” in the picture is a software developer. I’ve worked in the industry for over 30 years, and you reach a point where you hope that your co-workers kinks are not illegal or dangerous. The odd interests correlate with the high IQ.
Defenseless and immobilized, that is how GovCo is proceeding to subjugate Citizens. And the Sheeple are all doing it willingly, while those of us who do not participate, are being criminalized.
Just out of curiosity, I looked up historical traffic fatality data. No surprise, it’s trending up.
https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatality-trends/deaths-and-rates/
Nearly every vehicle on the road has ‘Snow & Water Skis’ for tires. 6 1/2″- 7″ tires are great for dry, clear pavement. On most any accumulation of precipitation, they become hydrofoils.
There was another reason the ‘Beetle’, and other cars of the day had good now-traction, tall, narrow tires that cut down to pavement, instead of riding up on top like snow-boards.
‘They would have developed such skills as feeling traction through the pedals and steering wheel.’ — eric
This is also what psychologists define as ‘fun’ — having engaging tasks to perform. Otherwise you could just sit in a simulator and watch a video of a highway.
Driving through eastern Arizona on Monday after a strong cold front blew through, I noticed how the visual evidence — more or less snow and frost beside the road — corresponded with changes in altitude and the need to slide the manual temp control lever (1997 vehicle) rightward or leftward, while upshifting or downshifting the manual transmission on grades. That’s engaging with the task and the landscape — unnecessary with cliiiiiiimate control and a 9-speed slushbox.
What if the true intent of our satanic overlords is to destroy all fun, except for them with their pedophile island adventures and militarized child sacrifices in Gaza?
They can kiss my ass.
Now just the other night with nothin’ to do
We broke a case of proof 102
And started itchin’ for that wonderful feel
Of rollin’ in an automobile
— ZZ Top, Arrested for Driving While Blind
Regarding “isn’t safe”, if one does know how to drive, the “assistance” can indeed be unsafe. As it tries to “fix” what it considers “unsafe”, even though it isn’t, because you do know how to drive.
A few things:
1. During the Plandemic North Carolina stopped giving road tests entirely. What could possibly go wrong?
2. Some “research” was done to show the human brain doesn’t mature until 25 years old. This is driving some, if not most, of this infantilization movement
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/
3. There is an aspect of human nature that seeks to have others do things for us to avoid work, etc. If given the opportunity to shed responsibility for something most will let the task be done by others. This results in the growth of the authoritarian state. E.g. if some parents aren’t giving their kids a “proper upbringing” as determined by GovCo “experts” programs will be erected to “correct” the problem. In doing so some parents who DID take care of their kids but were having a hard time doing so (or were just a tad less lazy) would see this opportunity to shed the task/responsibility on to the GovCo program.
In other words, the more GovCo does for society the more people in society will seek it to do for them. It’s a negative reinforcing cycle. It will end when a society crashes and burns due to incompetence of GovCo and sloth of individuals.
Too many people think that a driver’s license test is the final. You pass it, you’re good to go. Unfortunately the system is set up to reenforce this idea. At best it’s a minimum knowledge test of understanding road signs and markings. At worst, it’s a good way to measure who is best at multiple guess tests. It probably proves people know which side of the road to drive on, but then again I’ve seen people go the wrong way in roundabouts too.
“You pass it, you’re good to go”
And you need not work to improve your driving skills, forever and ever. Amen.