Times they are a-changin, and what was once deemed as a set of “optional” safety features on cars that one could simply disable may now soon be permanent – whether you like it or not.
The news comes via ChaisngCars, which was the first to report that Toyota is considering preventing drivers from switching off safety features in its vehicles.
According to Akihiro Sarada, president of Toyota's software development center, the Japanese automaker is committed to achieving its goal of "zero traffic accidents" — not just fatalities, but all auto accidents. “Our ultimate goal is to eradicate all traffic accidents, and of course, autonomous driving is a technology that is necessary to realize a safe environment,” he said. “We have to study and decide if we would enable an ‘off’ button.”
But there’s a caveat: Toyota is considering letting drivers temporarily turn off safety measures or drive as they choose in two situations – on public roads where the car's software recognizes there are no other vehicles or people nearby, and on racetracks.
“... for example, if it is on the circuit, (autonomous driving and manual driving) can co-exist,” said Sarada. “In the area(s) where drivers are able to have fun driving, then we want them to have the discretion to decide the way they drive their cars."
This comes at a time when a large percentage of drivers want more and more safety features in cars, while others find them too intrusive to enjoy manual driving. Take this A025 AAMI Crash-Index study, for instance, which reports that one in five drivers prefer disabling their car’s safety features.
The study analyzed more than 480,000 claims and found that a majority of drivers – 69%, specifically – turn off their safety features because they find them “annoying, distracting, and too sensitive.”
Interestingly, 23% of drivers in the study turned off the features because they believed they didn’t need them, while 13% reported not trusting them. It highlights the disparity between the safety features manufacturers install in cars and those drivers actually use in real-world conditions.
Come to think of it, the first thing I do as soon as I sit in my off-road-oriented Suzuki Jimny is turn off the engine start-stop feature. Even when I’m driving through crazy Delhi traffic, it’s as useless as a doorbell on a tent.
I personally know friends who firmly believe they’ve ended up in accidents because of these so-called "safety features." Get some drinks into our own Joe Salas, and he'll tell salty tales of how the ‘stability control’ in his old pickup almost killed him on two occasions.
“We have to really study in detail whether or not it is really mandatory for us to control that detail, to the level where we have to forbid them to enjoy their driving,” notes Sarada.
“Drivers want to have excitement in driving," Sarada added. "By using connected data, they can receive announcements that under certain) conditions they can have more fun, that right now it is safe, but several seconds later, (if) there is a risk, (they can) receive a warning beforehand.”
However, if there are other vehicles, bikes, or pedestrians nearby, even this "leniency" could prevent a driver from turning off safety features like lane-centering or speed limit controls on rural roads.
It’s all a subtle balancing act, you see.
But here’s why it’s significant. This comes from a manufacturer that has long been ahead of others when it comes to vehicle safety regulations. Toyota and Lexus were among the first car brands to introduce a “temporary hold” preventing drivers from toggling satellite navigation while the car was in motion, before other manufacturers followed suit.
So, if Toyota were to implement this decision, it would likely prompt others to do the same – and that worries me. It would take even more control away from drivers, and that scares the daylights out of me.
Your thoughts?
Via ChaisngCars
