I think you're right that it was likely intended for motorways, and I suspect the instances where someone shouldn't be driving anyway, if they are tired or drowsy and prone to drift. But yes, on minor roads, it's ridiculously dangerous and just not needed at all.
I suppose the issue for many is that they won't have any budget for a new car. Some people keep their car ticking over and are happy to, they shouldn't be forced to pay for a new car. As for the 2k banger territory comment, I totally accept that, but many likely won't have any spare cash lying around for a new car, especially with the rising cost of living. I know we are talking about years into the future, but it won't be that far away and I can't see things decreasing in price hugely in that time, if anything the cost of living will likely go up further. Edit: when i say 'new car' i obviously mean an EV replacement for their old car, not a 'new EV car'.
I wasn't going fast in any of the instances. The biggest danger was lane assist trying to force me to hit something I was trying to avoid.
Back to the original idea of Electric Vehicles - where there is a Tory government there is every chance it will be done wrong https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2022/03/further-safety-fears-emerge-over-ev-charging/
Just caught up on this thread and a couple of things on "helpful " technology Lane assist - I have it on my car and never use it - fortunately you turn it on or off and it stays that way. its pointless even dangerous unless on a motorway or Dual carriageway and even then I can only see it benefitting those who drive in a middle lane all the time incase they find themselves accidentally wandering to an inside lane As for the speed limiters - does anyone know how they will really work. I have both cruise control and speed limiters in my car - use the cruise a lot and the limiter occassionally having manually set them to the limit. these are both very useful Also even if I have the limiter set I can override it by flooring the accelerator in case of some sudden need to accelerate. How will the manditory ones work If they are set to 70mph as some earlier posters suggest that's just dumb as by far the bigger problem is speeding when not on a motorway or ignoring overhead limits. (though these are often wrongly set) Also how are they calibrated I just did a long drive in France where its dead easy to calibrate your speedo on the quiet Autoroutes and at an indicated 136Kph I was actually doing 129.9 when clocked against the 0.1 km posts I did a quick check and it seemed a similar error for 110kph which is close enough to 70mph but basically 115kph seemed to be just within the actual 110 limits so my car when the speedo says 73mph is actually doing just under 70. I would be somewhat mifffed if I found I was limited to 67mph in my next car Also when I go to France I dont want my car limited to the UK limit I want to drive at the French autoroute limit - how will that work? I thought I read somewhere they would be linked to the actual speed limit so when in 30 you are limited to 30 on a motorway limited to 70 but then have cameras to read the overhead signs if a limit is imposed. Thats all well and good - my car has that already, and its garbage its often misses a sign and so is still on the previous limit or reads a sign on a side or exit road so I genuinely dont know how that can work. Even worse in France where they have signs for limits that only apply to trailers for example Id love to know what the actual plan is as its likely my next car will be stuck with one
Don't see the difference between speed limiter and cruise to be honest in those situations. If I accelerate it overrides the cruise control and when I come off the gas pedal it drops back to the speed set on cruise. If I brake it disables the cruise control although I can flick a switch and it goes back to the speed it was last engaged at. I have a little trick also that I can set a winter tyre alarm speed which sounds if I go over the limit I set. Obviously it doesn't physically stop you doing so but a good reminder on a long journey.
I have a Jeep Renegade with lane assist and it's excellent. It works very well on roads with marked lanes, such as motorways, but turns itself off automatically if it can't detect any reliable lane information. It works fine for me. The only downside I can find is that sometimes my car automatically turns into the Curry Mahal car park when I was intending to go straight home.
I feel like I’m going to need driving lessons again when I get a new car. There’s so much technology that’s been invented since I bought mine I don’t think I’ll recognise it as a car
I agree with everything you say on the speed limit recognition technology. In my last car I had it, but it wasn't linked to the speed limiter, it was just a feature to show the limit on the dash for reference. I think the new requirement is for it to be linked to the speed limiter, but in the sense that it auto sets the limit, but that it starts slowing down if you don't react to the new limit. I wait to see how different manufacturers approach it, as it could be a real pain in the arse. My previous car used to see signs on slip roads as it was passing, and the worse thing was that it used to see the overhead gantries on motorways, show me the new limit, but if it then didn't see the limit confirmed by passing another gantry showing the same limit within 15 seconds it just used to think bugger it and reverted to showing me the 70mph limit instead that it derived from the map. Bloody confusing when driving along and the gantry is saying one thing, the in car speed limit is saying another.
Bit like driverless cars that still need a driver. Lord help us when you get a mix of (semi) autonomous, fully autonomous and manual cars all sharing the roads.
Here's an idea... Pass a law that all cars must be preceded by a man on foot with a red flag. Solves road accidents and unemployment in one move. Been done before. Let's face it would be just another step back to the Victorian Britain some of the Govt crave.
There's a big difference. Cruise is useful when you can do a steady mileage in a straight line, eg. A motorway. If you need to set a limit in a built up area that is festooned with cameras, where you are constantly braking, taking bends, speeding back up again, how does that work with cruise? Every time you hit the brake it turns off. Adaptive cruise can overcome that to some extent but only if there are cars in front of you to do the braking first, so the adaptive cruise can react to what's in front of it. But you would be so constantly on alert for it to do something unexpected like speeding up just as you approach a bend because the car in front has turned off that it is not useable in that way. That's where a speed limiter comes in. You just continue to do the driving, safe in the knowledge that the car will stop you speeding inadvertently.
No worries. Petrol cars will still be on the road for years yet. There will be a thriving second hand market for them well into the 2040s. Don't forget, people can still buy a new one up to the end of 2029. Those will be on the road until the latter part of the 2040s
I have just got a Kia EV6 which is my first electric car. It’sa great looking car and drives very nicely. My only complaint is that it is like a computer on wheels - very complicated. Like all car manuals, it’s manual is rubbish, long and full of health and safety clutter. Why can’t car manufacturers produce decent colour manuals?