My car tells me when I’m drifting. My wife had the feature first.
Modern cars have become remarkably attentive. Drift toward the edge of your lane and the dashboard lights up. A warning sounds. The steering wheel may even nudge you back where you belong.
This is considered advanced driver-assistance technology. Marriage developed a similar system years ago.
Cars now monitor speed, lanes, blind spots, following distance, parking, attention, and practically every other decision happening behind the wheel. The technology is impressive. What’s less impressive is discovering how many things your car apparently thinks you need help with.
It’s familiar territory in Phone Dead. Car Unimpressed., where another clever automotive feature discovers that technology is only as useful as the person trying to use it. And Lost With Full Signal proves that having all the available technology still doesn’t guarantee we’re going in the right direction.
Lane-keeping assistance may be relatively new, but the basic concept isn’t. Someone notices you drifting, gives you a look, and suggests a correction.
The only real breakthrough is that now the dashboard does it without bringing it up again at dinner.
Explore more Chad Geepeety™ cartoons about cars, driving technology, GPS, smartphones, and machines that have become increasingly comfortable correcting us.
