DrewE wrote:
I think that oftentimes things that make the actual task of driving easier and needing less continual mental alertness actually improve safety and driving quality.
Yeah I agree ... as long as those things that make the actual task of driving easier ... work 24/7 year after year.
Now I'm really skeptical of trusting electronic gizmos and related complex systems too far where human safety is concerned. I just watched a show on TV of that famous incident in Central America where a tiny wire leading to/from a gyroscope instrument in a passenger jet was intermittenly opening up and finally caused a crash that killed everyone. We depend too much on increasingly complex systems all around us.
My DW has a fascinating grasp of statistics and as a result doesn't fly. She says that your chances of survival are 50/50 - either you're going to crash or you're not. I took statistics in college but still don't know how to respond to her viewpoint on that. Her same insightful statistical reasoning probably applies to some of the existing and upcoming electronic "aides" in personal transportation vehicles. I know how one single intergrated circuit junction can get leaky over time and cause a circuit malfunction. Folks would be scared to death if they knew about all the 800 lb. gorillas in the high tech room.
