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Lazy Driver vs. Big Brother: A Ridiculous Argument
Dec 13 2007 by Sara Lacey
12/13/2007
However You Feel About Them, Advances Help Keep Us Safe
I've heard some talk lately about "lazy" drivers. There are lots of enthusiasts, journalists, critics and bloggers out there discussing the fact that technological safety gizmos like adaptive cruise control, pre-collision sensors, stability control and the like have been created as a result of (and response to) lazy drivers. Uh-oh. I like my backup camera — does that make me lazy?
Some critics are uptight because this technology is pushing out the simple car, one driven purely by the driver and not by any Big Brother-like overriding systems. To these people, technology is a killjoy. Others are bent out of shape because we can't possibly expect people to become better drivers if they've got all this stuff to do the work for them. For them, technology is an overprotective parent.
Frankly, I don't get either of these arguments. You knew I wouldn't, dear reader, because you know that I'm the parent who carries everything but the kitchen sink around with me — you know, just in case. Regardless of whether this equipment came about because of lazy drivers or creates them, we can't ignore the fact that it has value. I can't imagine the conversations regarding the worth of car seats, airbags and seat belts. I know they happen, though. I'm forever hearing grandparents say things like "We used to set the kids on the seat right next to us and they were fine!"
Just yesterday, I saw a woman driving with a child who wasn't in a car seat. The kid couldn't have been older than 4, and I wanted to scream. That kid needs every piece of safety technology we can give him (including a mother who makes better decisions). Until we decide to place an emphasis on lifetime driver-training skills, we are owed the best safety technology out there.
User Comments
The response to those grandparents should be something along the lines of, ”...but not when you got into accidents. Car seats, seatbelts, and airbags, when properly used, make all the difference in the world in an accident. Everyone can walk away from a severe accident basically unharmed thanks to modern safety technology. That certainly didn’t happen back in your day.”
The trouble about making cars safer is that there’s a tendency for drivers to drive more dangerously to compensate.
http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2006/11/what_peltzman_f.html
offers a simple/concise explanation.
It’s very difficult to use the word lazy without sounding pejorative maybe we should use ‘human’instaed.
We’re all human and we all end up driving when perhaps we shouldn’t - tired, upset, distracted, late - all can effect our safety more than most of us think…