Are cars really that safe?
Now, more than ever, it seems like there are more distractions that cause drivers of all ages to cause or be in an accident. This is unfortunate, but it is true. We have cell phones, music, food on the go, or even makeup that mixes in with the “driving to work” part of the day. The result? Cars are more technologically advanced than ever before with more counter measures to these distractions than most realize. Things like lane-keep assist, blind spot monitoring, and braking assist are all widely available on most new vehicles. Even things like self-driving vehicles seem to be on the horizon to combat these distractions. The busy-ness of everyday life forces too many people to do menial, everyday tasks on their way to work rather than before they get into the driver’s seat.
While all of this safety and even convenience technology is wonderful in so many ways, I look at it in a different way. Before I say anything else though, I have to preface my thoughts by saying that there are many safety features and convenience items available in cars today that are very beneficial. My 2013 Mazda 3 (I don’t have that car anymore) was the first car I ever owned that had push button start and a smart key. I thought I would never get used to it. I hated it, but after a few weeks, I was forced to admit that it was really helpful when I had groceries in my hand and couldn’t always reach into my pocket to push the “unlock” button. Something that I wish I had is blind spot monitoring. Neither my Mazda 3 nor my current Genesis Coupe have that feature. As good a driver as I know that I am, there have been times where I have been close to pulling into the passing lane while somebody was beside me. Thank God that hasn’t happened.
Cost:
But, back to the matter at hand… I firmly believe, and to some extent have experienced, that all of this technology, safety, and convenience equipment is not all that it is cracked up to be. Let me explain. As with anything in life, there are always trade-offs. In this case, all the technology in cars comes at an extremely high price tag. That isn’t to say the cost of a human life is less than any amount of money one could pay to get a car with every piece of safety equipment available. It is to say that, generally speaking, the people able to afford cars with every available modern safety feature are few and far between. Evidence to support this comes in the form of the average age of a car in America: 11 years old. For a piece of equipment that is used every day, sometimes hours at a time, that is a long time. Technology progresses quickly. 11 years ago, Facebook was 2 years old, YouTube turned 1 year old, and Twitter was just born.
Security:
That’s not the only downside of all this technology. Because of other forms of technology, and the increasing number of cyber threats, the real potential exists for a higher number of cyber-attacks on the software used in vehicles. Yes it can happen… all you need to do is go onto YouTube to watch somebody remotely hack into a modern car and shut it down. Cars have mechanical parts, but they are governed by computers. Computers can be hacked; therefore, the software used in vehicles can be attacked from the outside. If this can be done with a car that anybody can physically drive, just think of a car that drives itself. To me, that is an extremely scary thought.
Reliability:
Along with this, there is something to be said about a basic, “low-technology” machine that is mechanically well-engineered. They tend to last longer than a machine that is almost entirely controlled by computer software. All it takes is a corrupt file, a little dirt or water to get into a processor somewhere, or a software update or malfunction to shut down crucial components. A cell phone is the poster child for this technology issue. Many people purchase new cell phones every other year… maybe a little longer than that. I personally had my last cell phone for over three years. There was nothing too terrible about it. It was not a high-end phone, but it was a basic smartphone. It worked, but just. By the end of the time I had it, it had become slow, bogged down by software updates, and was running out of battery life when unplugged. Personal computers can be placed into this category too, but they may be replaced less frequently… let’s say about five years. For anybody scoffing at this, you can’t complain the next time your phone reboots a little slower than normal or some kind of software update causes your phone to act a little different than before. Computers are great, but they are also the cause of frustration and anger with those who work and deal with them on a daily basis.
Durability:
The last major issue is almost a combination of everything we’ve covered so far. With the technology that we have, comes better testing and improvement of the technology that exists. This means that cars are more reliable than ever before, which seems contradictory to what I’ve already said. Reliability as a whole may be better, but I think that the individual parts that make up all of this extra equipment are too fickle and fragile. A computer that tells the driver when he or she is too close to an object behind them is not necessary to make the car go forward and backward. The same can be said of a computer that senses a stopped car in front of somebody going a little too fast and stops the car automatically. Sure these things are great. They don’t drive the car.
I saw a Consumer Reports article last winter suggesting that before driving to work after a snow or ice storm, a driver should wipe down the rear quarter panel of a car with blind spot monitoring in order to allow the sensor to work. It certainly makes sense. It also is a little disconcerting. If a little snow or ice, which is transparent, can cause a “safety” mechanism in the car to not function properly, who knows what else could cause a malfunction. What would happen if someone backed into a car with the same mechanism and the driver hadn’t noticed? That may not happen every day but it is certainly not an infrequent occurrence. That sensor may be damaged as a result. If a driver expects a piece of safety equipment to work, and it doesn’t, that could spell disaster for the driver and another on the road.
Conclusion:
This brings me to my conclusion. Safety equipment is becoming better. Most of it right now is absolutely some of the best technology available anywhere, and it is proven to save lives, even if it is finicky and not perfect sometimes. I haven’t even made mention of things like airbags and crumple zones. Both the structure of the car and equipment that is mandated in all cars have made giant leaps forward from the past. They truly make a car safer and have proven that from the hundreds of lives that have been spared in accidents because of them. I want to focus on all the extras… you know the equipment that isn’t airbags, seat belts, and vehicle structure. Basically, all of the “active” safety features you can buy in a car. For as many people who have been saved by a backup camera, a blind spot monitor, or emergency breaking, there have been those who haven’t because of the increased reliability the consumer has on these pieces of safety equipment.
All these things are designed to be driver aids, not autonomous features that are meant to correct every error that the driver makes. It is when people think this way that accidents occur. Reliance on technology has had both good and bad consequences. Technology allows us to do more than ever and have access to any information in the history of mankind. If it fails, like during a power outage, we seem to cease being able to do anything. We are reduced to those walking around, lost, without purpose or meaning. In a car, when a sensor fails, it gives the driver an opportunity to place the blame on the manufacturer or the car itself. It is in this regard that these safety features fail us. They lead us into a false sense of security. Human senses are replaced by reliance on a machine.
It is because of this, that I have to say that cars really are safer than many think they are. At the same time, they are also more dangerous than people think they are. The mentality that everything can reach a level of perfection is fatally flawed. It encourage less human interaction and more reliance on the “thing”. Working together, man and vehicle can become one of the safest machines ever. Sadly, this is not happening and will never happen; therefore, painting a rather serious picture of all the flaws of safety technology, will continue to be the norm.
