Safety experts say drivers should use their car as if driving a model from the 1980s, and assume no software or hardware will keep them safe. — dpa
From avoiding potential collisions to keeping you in lane on the motorway, your car's assistance systems do plenty to make driving safer.
But as car tech brings us ever closer to entirely taking our hands off the wheel, it's important not to let a car's assistance systems completely take over care of your safety, inspection experts at Germany's Tuev testing agency say.
Even with a feature as useful and simple as cruise control, which lets you take your foot off the accelerator while the car maintains a constant speed, the experts say there's a risk that your concentration will wane, as less input is asked of you.
The same goes for lane change assistants, which give you one less thing to worry about by making sure you're always driving between the lines.
Cruise control can also put you in a tricky situation if you get into a confusing traffic situation or an obstacle suddenly appears in the road, although many new cars do feature a distance-control function that slows the car down in case of a pending collision.
A blind spot assistant will give you a visual or audible warning signal and prompt you to counter-steer if the system thinks you didn't see a cyclist or an oncoming car. But a system like this should never lead you to become less attentive.
Drivers should still use their car as if driving a model from the 1980s, and assume no software or hardware will keep them safe, the experts say. That means regularly checking the rear view mirrors and glancing backwards, and being ready to brake at all times. – dpa
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