Towing Safety Tech

azdryheat wrote:
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Every airline pilot is there with a boatload of professional training. Even the weekend pilot in his Cessna has professional and recurrent training. Most every car/RV driver has had no professional training other than from mom and dad or the salesman. In Arizona a person gets their driver's license at 16 and has no further involvement with DMV until their 65th birthday. Professional training? Recurrent training? Huh? My RV company made me get a CDL with an airbrake endorsement to drive all the RV's we sell. The CDL wasn't hard to get but passing all the tests did require serious study. My CDL must also be renewed every 5 years. Should the everyday driver have the same same standard as a CDL? It's a start.

I think that before we automate cars, trucks, and RV's we first train the drivers to a higher standard. Professional training with re-current training just like in aviation. If people had to go through what a pilot has to endure 1) we wouldn't have so many drivers (gridlock would also go away) and 2) the drivers we do have will be a more mature and capable driver. It won't make the roads perfect but it will make them substantially safer. Then, perhaps, we might consider some automation.

My first thought is No. I always get nervous when people say "the government should do something about this!" or "There should be a law!". Unintended consequences. At least in Connecticut, the training and classes for teenagers is rather extensive, at least compared to when I got my license decades ago.

My two kids had months of classes (a couple nights a week) and many hours of on road driving before they got their licenses. And even then, until they were 18 there is a bunch of restrictions on their driving - curfews, people in car (NO non-family in car), etc.

I think they driver training requirements are pretty good now, at least where I am.

I don't want to have to take "refresher" classes and re-certifications every year or two, and I don't want to force other people to.

I had CDL training years ago for driving fire trucks. Yes, it is good driver training, but I really don't see the need to make everyone go through it.

Would it be good to have everyone go through extensive driver re-training on a regular basis? Sure! Is every 5 years good enough? What about every 4 years? Or every year? At what point do you say enough?

I am still in the fire department (no longer a youngster who wears an air pack, though), and still respond to vehicle accidents. In my completely unscientific experience, the large majority of accidents today are caused by cell phone use. At almost every accident these days, the first thing the police ask the drivers is no longer "have you been drinking?" but "Were you using your cell phone?". Doesn't matter if it is "hands free" - holding the cell phone or talking to your dashboard doesn't make a difference. The issue is the conversation you are having is distracting you from paying attention to your driving.

Even if the drivers in involved in an accident weren't using their cell phones, another driver may have been and unknowingly cut people off or did something else that actually caused the accident, then the cell phone user just keeps driving, blissfully unaware of what happened behind them.

Get off your cell phone, then we'll talk about other issues.

So... swinging back to "towing tech", yes a lot of it is good, but I would be concerned about all those blinking lights and screens distracting the driver. I also am concerned about drivers DEPENDING on that tech instead of paying attention to driving safely. It has begun to happen more often now with the "self driving" cars - some people brag about doing work while letting the car "drive".

So.... do I like "towing tech"? YES! It is wonderful to help with towing. I just get concerned that the "tech" is not quite good enough, YET, to depend on 100%.

We have adaptive cruise in our expedition, no way does it follow far enough back to be towing a trailer. On it’s furthest setting it is closer to the person in front of me than I care to be. I’m in the keep it simple and pay attention camp. I drive, my wife navigates.

2112 wrote:
Adaptive cruise, and me not being ready for it, got me a speeding citation last month in our new 2020 Ford Edge.

I had cruise set on 65 going with the flow in the inside lane. We enter city limits where the speed limit is reduced to 45, adapive cruise doing its thing. We approach an LEO in the center median. No problem, I'm doing <45. As I approach the LEO the car in front of me changes lanes, leaving open road in front of me. The adaptive cruise sped up to 55 before I realized what it was doing. It was trying to get back to 65. I was wrote up for doing 55 in a 45. $255 deferred.

Other than that, I like the technology.

Adaptive cruise didn't cause the ticket...cruise control (even adaptive) is for wide open roads where it's unlikely to have a need to slow down or stop. Adaptive just takes care of unexpected slow downs and stops on those open roads. Entering a town is not an unexpected slow down. You are still expected to pay attention.

rhagfo wrote:
The best tech besides more filling distance is to look further down the road in front of you. While I also pay attention to the vehicle in front of me I scan the entire road about 1/4 mile down the road. Also check mirrors often.

This is some of the BEST defensive tips I have read in a long time.

The technology is offered in all 2020 HD trucks made by Ford and Ram. I can’t tell if one is better than the other. I don’t know if GM is going to offer the tech in it’s vehicles.

Another truck I was seriously considering sold this morning. I don’t know what’s going on but these trucks are selling like hot cakes. I may wait till next year and hope the supply chain causes some bigger rebates.

I’ll be the old man, at age 47 here, and say I don’t really like any of that chit.
Wife’s car has all that stuff and the lane departure is fun to ply with, see how long it will steer for you before it yells at you!
I’ve turned off the active collision avoidance. It activated a few times, falsely, and the brakes on that car stop faster than virtually everything else on the road and it almost got us rear ended.
Adaptive cruise is kinda nice, but it is slow to react if it’s “adapting” and you change lanes to go around someone. So not safe in moderate traffic. Imo. And not needed in low volume traffic.
Towing is a different situation and if you think that stuff is making you safer, then you need to re-assess your driving abilities IMO.

TPMS should have alarms set to alert you of problems so that you really don't need to monitor it.

Like any new tool adaptive cruise control has a learning curve but I do feel like the curve has been short and that overall it reduces stress and helps my safety.

"Near misses can indicate you will eventually have an accident."
Drive long enough and you will eventually have an accident. Even if you are a perfect driver stuff happens that is totally out of your control. The best defense is to minimize damage by driving at safe speeds, keeping room around you and making yourself easy to see by using your lights generously.

I have a Ford Explorer with Adaptive cruise and all the other safety features. It is the best feature of all. Doesn't require thinking at all. I think it would be great in a tow vehicle. It's simple, if you are driving faster than the vehicle in front of you, it gradually slows down to the same speed. You can set the following distance, so with a trailer, you would set it far back. If someone cuts between you and the person you are following, it will slow to get that following distance in check. If someone slows or hits the brakes, it will do the same. Usually faster than I can think about it. When I drive my truck and trailer, I don't have this feature. I have to think about it, shut off cruise, etc. I think it is a great feature and should be in all new vehicles.

I haven't looked at the latest HD trucks. Do any offer Adaptive Cruise? I looked at 1/2 tons and Ford was the only one offering it. The GM guy told me that GM didn't think Adaptive cruise was safe when towing, which I disagree. But I'm sure that is just because they didn't have it. I'm, not sure about the 2021 trucks coming out. If given a choice, I would pay extra for it in any vehicle.

Adaptive cruise, and me not being ready for it, got me a speeding citation last month in our new 2020 Ford Edge.

I had cruise set on 65 going with the flow in the inside lane. We enter city limits where the speed limit is reduced to 45, adapive cruise doing its thing. We approach an LEO in the center median. No problem, I'm doing <45. As I approach the LEO the car in front of me changes lanes, leaving open road in front of me. The adaptive cruise sped up to 55 before I realized what it was doing. It was trying to get back to 65. I was wrote up for doing 55 in a 45. $255 deferred.

Other than that, I like the technology.

I agree that paying attention, driving defensively etc is job1. And adaptive cruise, lane departure and collision avoidance w stop, I see as an enhancement to safety not a primary driver.

BTW, I’ve been in the Utility business all my life also and controls and alarm systems can get tooo busy. A great operator always can look though the noise and find and act on the real problem and that experience is invaluable to the Utility.

The other stuff - tpms, and the camera are more convenience and integration which just lower clutter in the cab.

We’ll do you guys think these enhancement will be something you will be interested in when you buy a new truck?