RE: Schumacher in the C-Class: Time For Tea?
Monday 16th December 2013
Though it didn't come entirely as a surprise, the list of active safety kit on the new Mercedes C-Class is still rather bewildering. Fitted to a £100K S-Class, the autonomous driving and accident avoidance stuff still seems a way off, reserved for proper luxury stuff. On a £30K C-Class, a driverless motoring feature seems far more viable.
Schumacher in the C-Class: Time For Tea?
F1 champ in a new Merc should be brilliant, right? Not exactly...
This latest video from Mercedes also features a certain M. Schumacher. Seeing a legend of F1 being reduced to a driving seat passenger is rather sad, particularly so when he strongly endorses it too. Yes, we know he's paid to, but seeing a great driver praise this tech still isn't enjoyable.
Fortunately, Herr Schumacher proves he's still got it by being able to avoid the set-up incidents all by himself (!). Though it seems fundamentally against the car's intentions, we're still looking forward to pushing some pedals and turning a wheel to see what the C-Class is like for those drivers that remain.
Take a look at the vid here
Discussion
What bothers me is that these systems are reactive not proactive. So they can see an obstruction ahead and brake hard (which might create other issues) but they can't see the obstacle until it is there. So where an alert driver might see a car approaching from a side road that looks like it isn't going to stop, or a child looking like he's about to step off the pavement without looking, and take proactive steps (slow down slightly in advance), these systems will barrel on till the obstruction is there and then try and stop (which there may or may not be time to do, they can't over-ride the laws of physics).
Or maybe on a motorway you see a load shifting on a lorry ahead so you move out into Lane 2 just in case. This won't do that, it will only try and stop IF the load comes off and lands in front of it, by which time it may be too late.
So what? You might say. People should be looking out as well as having the system, and you'd be right. But we're dealing with human nature here. As soon as your average driver knows the car will follow the one in front and speed up, slow down, stop he'll be on the phone texting, updating Facebook, having a nap, whatever. Why bother being alert? The car will take care of everything for him.
These systems cannot replace the driver. But you know that, effectively, they will anyway. People are lazy and stupid, they won't drive while they think the car will do it all for them.
Or maybe on a motorway you see a load shifting on a lorry ahead so you move out into Lane 2 just in case. This won't do that, it will only try and stop IF the load comes off and lands in front of it, by which time it may be too late.
So what? You might say. People should be looking out as well as having the system, and you'd be right. But we're dealing with human nature here. As soon as your average driver knows the car will follow the one in front and speed up, slow down, stop he'll be on the phone texting, updating Facebook, having a nap, whatever. Why bother being alert? The car will take care of everything for him.
These systems cannot replace the driver. But you know that, effectively, they will anyway. People are lazy and stupid, they won't drive while they think the car will do it all for them.
Ari said:
What bothers me is that these systems are reactive not proactive. So they can see an obstruction ahead and brake hard (which might create other issues) but they can't see the obstacle until it is there. So where an alert driver might see a car approaching from a side road that looks like it isn't going to stop, or a child looking like he's about to step off the pavement without looking, and take proactive steps (slow down slightly in advance), these systems will barrel on till the obstruction is there and then try and stop (which there may or may not be time to do, they can't over-ride the laws of physics).
Or maybe on a motorway you see a load shifting on a lorry ahead so you move out into Lane 2 just in case. This won't do that, it will only try and stop IF the load comes off and lands in front of it, by which time it may be too late.
So what? You might say. People should be looking out as well as having the system, and you'd be right. But we're dealing with human nature here. As soon as your average driver knows the car will follow the one in front and speed up, slow down, stop he'll be on the phone texting, updating Facebook, having a nap, whatever. Why bother being alert? The car will take care of everything for him.
These systems cannot replace the driver. But you know that, effectively, they will anyway. People are lazy and stupid, they won't drive while they think the car will do it all for them.
Good post. Sometimes I think cars should be made more challenging so that the average idiot is forced to pay attention and learn how to drive properly.Or maybe on a motorway you see a load shifting on a lorry ahead so you move out into Lane 2 just in case. This won't do that, it will only try and stop IF the load comes off and lands in front of it, by which time it may be too late.
So what? You might say. People should be looking out as well as having the system, and you'd be right. But we're dealing with human nature here. As soon as your average driver knows the car will follow the one in front and speed up, slow down, stop he'll be on the phone texting, updating Facebook, having a nap, whatever. Why bother being alert? The car will take care of everything for him.
These systems cannot replace the driver. But you know that, effectively, they will anyway. People are lazy and stupid, they won't drive while they think the car will do it all for them.
exocet ape said:
The Dummy is a stationary item, yet the car barely stops in time under abrupt braking. OOps bang the car behind bangs into the Merc and the dummy still gets hit.
Another way of looking at that is that the system only cuts in when it absoloutely has to. If you had seen that dummy in normal driving, you would have slowed/swerved/stopped already. The fact that you got so close that the system could only just avoid it on full-on-emergency stop is probably evidence enough that you were past the point of bailing yourself out. If it cut in any sooner, it might have screwed up your own awesome saving manoeuvre, or at least seemed very intrusive.Sadly I can see a time coming where people will tut at "reckless" drivers who insist on driving dangerous machines without stability protection/brain-out control in the same way that many view skydivers and rock climbers today.
This is probably a bit on the fringes of probability, but in more dangerous/violent countries than ours, does this mean if I see a guy in a flash S or C class that I want to rob I can just step out in front of him and have a few accomplices box him in?
Edited by glazbagun on Monday 16th December 18:50
exocet ape said:
Spot on Ari.
The Dummy is a stationary item, yet the car barely stops in time under abrupt braking. OOps bang the car behind bangs into the Merc and the dummy still gets hit.
It's easy to pick extreme examples of circumstances when this could go wrong. I remember the same arguments over the introduction of seatbelts (yes, I'm that old). Car rolls and you are crushed because you are held in place by belt, etc. I even have a friend who is alive because she wasn't wearing a belt and was thrown from her car which burst into flames. But no-one doubts now that on balance it is safer to wear a belt than not.The Dummy is a stationary item, yet the car barely stops in time under abrupt braking. OOps bang the car behind bangs into the Merc and the dummy still gets hit.
This stuff is all about percentages.
To take the example of a child walking along the edge of a curb and falling into the road. Yes, a careful driver might anticipate and slow down or move out. A careful driver would not not take such action because they were driving a sentient Merc. But it is far more likely that a driver does not brake early enough for an obstacle in the road due to being distracted (spouse talking, chatting on phone, selecting music, using sat nav, kids fighting in the back, etc., etc., stuff that shouldn't distract you but does) THEN this system reacts for you and saves lives
Why do they even bother masking certain parts of the car when it
will look exactly like the current E/S-class but smaller.
It's not like there will be a huge surprise lurking underneath the tape.
I only hope that the driving aids will help the blind and distracted to
avoid hitting push-bikes, motorcycles, pedestrains etc., but I fear the false sense of security will make it even worse.
will look exactly like the current E/S-class but smaller.
It's not like there will be a huge surprise lurking underneath the tape.
I only hope that the driving aids will help the blind and distracted to
avoid hitting push-bikes, motorcycles, pedestrains etc., but I fear the false sense of security will make it even worse.
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