Seat 'lane assist' ad -are driving standards now THAT bad..?
Discussion
Watching telly the other night and an advert for a Seat Leon came on.
Now of all the features they could choose to promote, the size of the interior, the handling, the warranty, the fanny magnet properties, whatever, they focussed the entire ad on one thing, the fact that the car will warn you and (it seems) actually steer the car for you, should you wander out of lane.
Now I'm not anti technology. I think ESP, where the car helps correct a slide by braking individual wheels (something the driver cannot do no matter how talented) is amazing. I think parking sensors are rather useful, I like sat nav, and convenience features like auto wipers are excellent because it saves me switching them on and off.
However, call me old fashioned but I tend to notice when I'm wandering out of lane, mainly due to the fact that I'M LOOKING WHERE I'M f
kING GOING!!
Seriously, how staggeringly careless do you have to be to wander out of lane and not notice? And worse, need the bloody car to correct for you if you do!
If someone has even the slightest need for this level of assistance then surely they are not competent to be on the road?
And yet this is deemed such a massive selling point, such an in demand feature, that car companies are basing entire advertising campaigns around it (there was a huge banner in the VW dealership today promoting it on a Golf too, FFS).
So, has anyone ever accidentally wandered out of lane without noticing? I'm not talking about changing lanes and - oh st there's a car passing me. Just literally meandering out of the lane they're in and not noticed?
This is the ad BTW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_PvcTzwMuI
Now of all the features they could choose to promote, the size of the interior, the handling, the warranty, the fanny magnet properties, whatever, they focussed the entire ad on one thing, the fact that the car will warn you and (it seems) actually steer the car for you, should you wander out of lane.
Now I'm not anti technology. I think ESP, where the car helps correct a slide by braking individual wheels (something the driver cannot do no matter how talented) is amazing. I think parking sensors are rather useful, I like sat nav, and convenience features like auto wipers are excellent because it saves me switching them on and off.
However, call me old fashioned but I tend to notice when I'm wandering out of lane, mainly due to the fact that I'M LOOKING WHERE I'M f
kING GOING!!Seriously, how staggeringly careless do you have to be to wander out of lane and not notice? And worse, need the bloody car to correct for you if you do!
If someone has even the slightest need for this level of assistance then surely they are not competent to be on the road?
And yet this is deemed such a massive selling point, such an in demand feature, that car companies are basing entire advertising campaigns around it (there was a huge banner in the VW dealership today promoting it on a Golf too, FFS).
So, has anyone ever accidentally wandered out of lane without noticing? I'm not talking about changing lanes and - oh s
t there's a car passing me. Just literally meandering out of the lane they're in and not noticed?This is the ad BTW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_PvcTzwMuI
I have a feeling that lane assist was partly to blame for a bizarre incident I encountered recently.
I was driving to work at about 6:40am and happily trundling along in the inside lane, I came across two cars. One was sitting in the inside lane doing about 60mph and in the outside lane was a Merc S-class doing the same speed.
I decided I wouldn't pass between the two of them and indicated and moved to the outside lane behind the Merc.
I waited a little while for the Merc to move and indeed it slowly started to drift to the inside lane. As it approached the white lines it suddenly swerved quite harshly away and over to the other side of the lane, at which point I could see it squat, give a little puff of dieselly smoke and it accelerated off at quite a rate. I duly pulled back to the inside lane and once clear of the other car the inside lane.
About a mile and a half later I caught up with the S class, now in the inside lane back to doing 60mph.
Very odd. I can only imagine he was half asleep and the lane assist shocked him into swerving and then he panicked with me behind him and decided to get out of there sharpish!
I was driving to work at about 6:40am and happily trundling along in the inside lane, I came across two cars. One was sitting in the inside lane doing about 60mph and in the outside lane was a Merc S-class doing the same speed.
I decided I wouldn't pass between the two of them and indicated and moved to the outside lane behind the Merc.
I waited a little while for the Merc to move and indeed it slowly started to drift to the inside lane. As it approached the white lines it suddenly swerved quite harshly away and over to the other side of the lane, at which point I could see it squat, give a little puff of dieselly smoke and it accelerated off at quite a rate. I duly pulled back to the inside lane and once clear of the other car the inside lane.
About a mile and a half later I caught up with the S class, now in the inside lane back to doing 60mph.
Very odd. I can only imagine he was half asleep and the lane assist shocked him into swerving and then he panicked with me behind him and decided to get out of there sharpish!
dkatwa said:
Would be a boon in the USA/ Canada, where the nearest place is hours away....and the arrow straight roads don't help....a friend of mine crashed into a ditch in the USA, having fallen asleep at the wheel...
You can also drive while texting in some states legally. Pretty sure they all allow you to be on the phone also.Cfnteabag said:
I am so glad someone else feels this way, the very second you require a piece of technology that tells you that you have drifted out of a lane you should surrender your driving license and use public transport until driverless cars become mainstream!
Does paint and rumble strips count as technology I think the BMW driver is was following yesterday could have done with it. Sat behind him in the outside lane and he slowly starts veering closer and closer to the concrete barrier of the central reservation. When he was literally centimetres away from it, he suddenly swerved. Genuinely thought I was about to see an accident, first by him hitting the barrier and then second, by the way he swerved so violently.
Can't see it working too well on the motorway, white lines are worn out due to a lack of routine maintenance 
Depending if you call it looking on the brightside 80% of the motorway network is supposed to be resurfaced over the next 5 years, hopefully they'll remember to redo the lines
Depending if you call it looking on the brightside 80% of the motorway network is supposed to be resurfaced over the next 5 years, hopefully they'll remember to redo the lines
I have it on my Leon and despite the fact that we always think we are always 100% focused in driving sometimes, especially on long motorways trips, it warned me a few times of my distraction.
Another positive effect is that it forces you to use your direction indicators to overtake as otherwise you will have to struggle to cross the line.
Another positive effect is that it forces you to use your direction indicators to overtake as otherwise you will have to struggle to cross the line.
To be honest the level of driving standards are now so bad this can only help, much as I hate the idea that it helps total morons concentrate even less. I'm getting really bored of being almost sideswiped by tossers on their phones, it seems that most drivers totally ignore the mobile phone laws. What manufactures need to invent is anti tailgating devices, the amount of people that drive so close to each other now is ridiculous, no wonder there are so many accidents.
RWD cossie wil said:
To be honest the level of driving standards are now so bad this can only help, much as I hate the idea that it helps total morons concentrate even less. I'm getting really bored of being almost sideswiped by tossers on their phones, it seems that most drivers totally ignore the mobile phone laws. What manufactures need to invent is anti tailgating devices, the amount of people that drive so close to each other now is ridiculous, no wonder there are so many accidents.
Without exception all of the poor driving I see is mobile phone related.AlexIT said:
I have it on my Leon and despite the fact that we always think we are always 100% focused in driving sometimes, especially on long motorways trips, it warned me a few times of my distraction.
Another positive effect is that it forces you to use your direction indicators to overtake as otherwise you will have to struggle to cross the line.
What if you're looking to pass without indicating? Eg: passing an HGV on it's limiter in Lane 1 when there is no other traffic around for miles and a few hundred yards between you and the vehicle you're passing?Another positive effect is that it forces you to use your direction indicators to overtake as otherwise you will have to struggle to cross the line.
I think it is probably a good idea.
A few years ago I hade a idiot drift out of their lane on a gentle curve and sideswipe the boat I was towing.
Said boat was white, over 20 feet long and six feet tall, and it was broad daylight!
What would be brilliant would be to tie the lane assist into the insurance black box if fitted. Drift out of lane (or change lanes without indicating) too often and your insurance premiums go up.
That may educate some drivers before they decide they have nothing left to learn.
A few years ago I hade a idiot drift out of their lane on a gentle curve and sideswipe the boat I was towing.
Said boat was white, over 20 feet long and six feet tall, and it was broad daylight!
What would be brilliant would be to tie the lane assist into the insurance black box if fitted. Drift out of lane (or change lanes without indicating) too often and your insurance premiums go up.
That may educate some drivers before they decide they have nothing left to learn.
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