Lane assist - does anyone actually like it?

[ColinD]

I use ACC a lot. Mostly on motorways but also a roads. Often when the path is clear too. I set to a speed, say 40, then drive faster as required for the road. 
 

Occasionally it trips over itself and warns of a bend. One occasion it caught me well, a big bird flew in front. No harm done, but did think afterwards, imagine a deer or something on the road at night. Radar… clever.

 

lane assist, that can just get lost.

[Hoppyda]

Lane assist is fine on motorways, but driving on narrow, twisty roads it is more of a hinderance.  Like many here, I now switch it off as soon as I start the car.

 

[Ootohere]

^^^ It should not be doing anything on the twisty bits.  Including misbehaving.

[GaryS62]

3 minutes ago, Rooted said:

^^^ It should not be doing anything on the twisty bits.  Including misbehaving.

It did for me when certain white lines on them

[ColinD]

The 230vrs I borrowed a while back and a Tesla m-y both fought me on straightening a roads. B roads never noticed it.
 

😛 Occasionally maybe on lined sides, but that might have been the kerb. #notmywheels

[Lady Elanore]

I've had it on a few cars and currently have it available now, but I don't use it. If I sat in one lane all day, on a motorway, then perhaps it would be of some use to me, but swapping lanes constantly and not always needing to use indicators means you keep getting a 'surprise' when the car fights back. I indicate when pulling from lane 1 to 2, or 2 to 3 for instance, but if I clear the car I am overtaking and there is nothing else around me, I will pull back into the correct lane without indicating. It's the way I was taught and can't seem to unlearn it. There is some merit in this approach though, as you have to make sure everything is safe and clear before you pull back in, rather than a reflex, indicate and move (not that any Briskodian would be so crass of course). 

 

Also, sometimes late at night you may find large amounts of standing water or other hazard on the motorway and move quickly to avoid them, indicating not being necessary as no other fool is daft enough to be driving on a horrendous winters night at 3 in the morning and of course the car fights back as you cross the lines

 

 

Disclaimer: the above comments don't apply to the BMWs I have owned, for obvious reasons...

[Hoppyda]

56 minutes ago, Rooted said:

^^^ It should not be doing anything on the twisty bits.  Including misbehaving.

Lane assist on mine was certainly doing lots of vibrating on the narrow twisting roads in Stirlingshire.  After that encounter, the first thing I do when I start the car is switch lane assist off.  In my view it's a menace!

[SteveTheElder]

Try turning off the vibration; it will be a lot less intrusive.

Then maybe the perceived negatives become tolerable providing benefit of the positives.

[Ootohere]

@Hoppyda  It is good that you can just switch it off as yours must be very sensitive and the roads you drive in Stirlingshire with twisty bits have clearer lines than the ones i drive.

I do not even disable Lane Keep Assist in cars when when the roads are snow covered, ploughed or with snow banks at the side of lanes in any car.

[fabdavrav]

I did NOT spec Lane assist when I ordered my MK7 Golf in 2014yr....(it was a factory option extra) as I knew then what a piece of #**# it would be due to its limitations...

 

In late 2022yr I got a MK8 Golf as a courtesy car....with all the stupid "no buttons" full haptic panel/steering wheel etc., etc.....Doing driving with multiple stops in & out of different stores in & around the Inverness area (just doing normal shopping)..I got tired of having to turn OFF all the stupid stuff every time I got back into the car & started it up!....

 

Lane assist, on the main "A" (haha) A939 Grantown road was a #***ing joke with Lane assist...it had to be OFF...as it was like having a wrestling session with the wheel at every corner!..

 

I tested Lane Assist "vision" on the roads near me as there are various new & faded sections....on new black tarmac, with new white lines, there is high contrast & I couldn't get within 3ft of the white lines before it went off!!Conversely sun bleached/faded old tarmac & old lines...low contrast & I could drive ontop of the lines before it went off!!...

 

Obviously it'll be totally useless up here with our snow etc..which is why they have to rely on highly accurate GPS & other systems for the "automated driving" on these newer cars..

 

Encouraging the "driver" to toss their brain out the window just means that when the car can't cope & flashes up "please take over" on the dash, the human behind the wheel will no longer have any idea what to do!...

 

[avi4tor]

I would prefer it if everyone who thought they needed any of the 'assists' would just throw their car keys away and take the bus.

[Ootohere]

& maybe a Self Drive bus. 

 

This Golf i got as a courtesy car was just hopeless for no physical buttons on the facia and them not lit up at night, but the GPS / ACC and the economy were amazing from the 2.0 TDI 115 PS with DSG. (needed to be in S to not bog down as it shifted 1st to 2nd) 

Lane keep assist with it was very very good on the same roads as @fabdavravhad issues on. 

(The slow average speed was on the back roads taking it home and seeing how everything worked and before filling it to the brim and seeing how the economy was before going up around the North East 250 Snow Roads.)

http://snowroads.com  http://northeast250.com     GPS / Sat Nav can disappear as does Mobile and Radio reception and the car can be constantly searching and telling you it is.  Hopeless in EV,s just as the Chargers are unreliable and hardly any Rapid chargers.  The 2 fast chargers at the Lecht are a joke.

1 Rapid charger in Tomintoul that might or might not work. More in Aboyne, equally as unreliable, and 1 in Braemar.

http://lecht.co.uk/webcams

 

Just be aware of those that can not stay on their own side of the road even when there are central white lines, solid or broken.

 

 

Edited 3 January by Rooted

[SouthernComfort]

On 03/01/2024 at 05:19, SteveTheElder said:

Try turning off the vibration; it will be a lot less intrusive.

Then maybe the perceived negatives become tolerable providing benefit of the positives.

Exactly - that's how I use mine. 

 

FWIW I find the amount of negative and cynical comments around assistance systems a bit disappointing. 6 things stick in my mind, and I look at it in this context:

 

- The systems in my car are there for the benefit of others on the road, not just me.

- If I were to lose consciousness behind the wheel, then LA and Auto Braking might lessen or even avoid possible disaster. Happened to a driver in my part of the world recently; heart attack, lost control, carnage. His earlier model car didn't have assistance systems much to the misfortune of others involved.

- I mentioned previously that a friend of mine had a momentary lapse due to fatigue and the LA system in her car DID come to the rescue.

- Modern assistance systems are just an updated safety contingency plan complementing seat belts, air bags and crumple zones. I'm happy to park my pride if it means modern tech will help out if I can't, even after 50 yrs of unblemished driving experience.

- The incidence of alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers on the road is a perennial problem. I just hope those idiots behind the wheel haven't turned their systems OFF... 

- Q. Would I be happy if the pilot of the A320 I'd just boarded announced that he preferred to fly 'old school' and turn the computers off?

 

As for Stop/Start, who cares? Lane Keeping Assist & Auto Braking, thank you!

 

[fabdavrav]

10 hours ago, SouthernComfort said:

 

- Q. Would I be happy if the pilot of the A320 I'd just boarded announced that he preferred to fly 'old school' and turn the computers off?

 

 

 

 

 

I think you'll find that in many cases the pilots do actually fly the planes & don't just leave it all "hands off" to the computers......& in the worse case scenario there are manual overrides & etc...plus the pilots get re-trained frequently, are & tested etc., etc..

 

If car drivers were tested & re-tested to the same levels of competency as airline pilots then you wouldn't need all safety systems...

 

 

The only reason you have so many "safety systems" is due to EU having lots of big brand cars HQ/manufacturing, car safety systems brands HQ/manufacturing, car insurance HQ, & all the lobbying that goes on with the EU standards & testing....Once the EU car brands do it, the rest of the world eventually follows....A lot of it is the safety systems brands come up with an idea, lobby the test & insurance lot & state "we can cut car accidents/deaths by "x" amount with this new device"....& then you next find that every body has to have one fitted to the car....same with Euro emissions regulations for engines...but this time the car industry has bitten back over the Euro 7 regs!...

[SouthernComfort]

1 hour ago, fabdavrav said:

 

 

I think you'll find that in many cases the pilots do actually fly the planes & don't just leave it all "hands off" to the computers......& in the worse case scenario there are manual overrides & etc...plus the pilots get re-trained frequently, are & tested etc., etc..

 

If car drivers were tested & re-tested to the same levels of competency as airline pilots then you wouldn't need all safety systems...

 

 

The only reason you have so many "safety systems" is due to EU having lots of big brand cars HQ/manufacturing, car safety systems brands HQ/manufacturing, car insurance HQ, & all the lobbying that goes on with the EU standards & testing....Once the EU car brands do it, the rest of the world eventually follows....A lot of it is the safety systems brands come up with an idea, lobby the test & insurance lot & state "we can cut car accidents/deaths by "x" amount with this new device"....& then you next find that every body has to have one fitted to the car....same with Euro emissions regulations for engines...but this time the car industry has bitten back over the Euro 7 regs!...

 I think you've taken an inch and leapt a mile. No worries. I expressed a view which I think was pretty clear. My opinion will inevitably counter the views of others, that's how it goes.

[Warrior193]

13 hours ago, SouthernComfort said:

Exactly - that's how I use mine. 

 

FWIW I find the amount of negative and cynical comments around assistance systems a bit disappointing. 6 things stick in my mind, and I look at it in this context:

 

- The systems in my car are there for the benefit of others on the road, not just me.

- If I were to lose consciousness behind the wheel, then LA and Auto Braking might lessen or even avoid possible disaster. Happened to a driver in my part of the world recently; heart attack, lost control, carnage. His earlier model car didn't have assistance systems much to the misfortune of others involved.

- I mentioned previously that a friend of mine had a momentary lapse due to fatigue and the LA system in her car DID come to the rescue.

- Modern assistance systems are just an updated safety contingency plan complementing seat belts, air bags and crumple zones. I'm happy to park my pride if it means modern tech will help out if I can't, even after 50 yrs of unblemished driving experience.

- The incidence of alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers on the road is a perennial problem. I just hope those idiots behind the wheel haven't turned their systems OFF... 

- Q. Would I be happy if the pilot of the A320 I'd just boarded announced that he preferred to fly 'old school' and turn the computers off?

 

As for Stop/Start, who cares? Lane Keeping Assist & Auto Braking, thank you!

 

I prefer to think of most of the driver assistance functions as a generally useful tool - but not for full reliance, as an assistance only - there will be occasions where the technology will get confused or misused, a case in point being the Tesla recall. Post crash mitigation braking is likely to be, potentially, the biggest life-saver.

Seemingly, I am one of a very few who rate automatic idle stop as a useful feature, fag-packet calcs tell me that even a 10 second stop with engine idling makes a small but measurable increase in fuel consumption, not to mention the unnecessary emissions. 

Edited 5 January by Warrior193
grammar

[Llwyngwernog]

Notwithstanding the somewhat asinine advice to throw away the car keys and take the bus I will continue to drive my car with all assistance systems in operation.

 

[Ootohere]

10 second stops with engine off is one thing but if you are in gridlock traffic on motorways like passing through a city and it maybe at 15 miles in an hour it is thousands of cars / vans stopped for 10-30 seconds dozens of times.

Maybe several lanes wide on each side as through Glasgow.   Edinburgh by-pass as well and it need not be cities it can be in and out of towns.

Edited 5 January by Rooted

[Warrior193]

2 hours ago, Llwyngwernog said:

Notwithstanding the somewhat asinine advice to throw away the car keys and take the bus I will continue to drive my car with all assistance systems in operation.

 

Or temporarily disable systems that appear unable to properly handle prevailing conditions.  

[Llwyngwernog]

17 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Or temporarily disable systems that appear unable to properly handle prevailing conditions.  

I cannot be bothered to fiddle around with the systems and am happy to allow the default settings to operate.

[Paws4Thot]

41 minutes ago, Llwyngwernog said:

I cannot be bothered to fiddle around with the systems and am happy to allow the default settings to operate.

You should definitely throw away the keys and walk everywhere.

[Llwyngwernog]

The suggestion you make about giving up driving are rather extreme .Whilst I accept the use of assistance systems are not everyone's choice , they are mine . All the numerous changes ,tweaks and attempts to foil the systems seem perverse to me . Therefore I shall continue to employ them to the full on my car .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fabdavrav]

13 hours ago, Llwyngwernog said:

The suggestion you make about giving up driving are rather extreme .Whilst I accept the use of assistance systems are not everyone's choice , they are mine . All the numerous changes ,tweaks and attempts to foil the systems seem perverse to me . Therefore I shall continue to employ them to the full on my car .

 

 

I think you'll find that in the owners manual it tells you to disable the Traction control to better enable to you to get going from a standstill especially on snow, loose surfaces...

 

Unfortunately they bury the setting in the touch screen in a sub menu on my car....so I retro-fitted the button that is fitted to the GTI/R....this to enable direct control..like I had in my 2001yr MK1 Fabia!!

 

I've also had to alter various ABS settings to cope with bigger brakes & engine tune to stop the traction control intervening way too early!...

 

I've re-coded way too many things to calm down the electronic "nanny's"....!!

 

However when I ordered the car, it came with quite a few things, (thankfully not lane assist, high beam assist, park steer)....but I did spec rear view camera (its an estate so needed) & rear seat side air bags (for best rear passenger protection)....

 

I do have "auto headlights"...but I never have the switch in that position....so many times the main lights or sidelights won't come on when I think they should be on to make my car more visible ..its a silvery colour..so in certain conditions is disappears easy... I can see, but you won't see my rear that well when you're in a 60mph or 70mph zone...

 

I suppose it all comes down to what the capabilities of the driver are & how they like to drive...

Edited 6 January by fabdavrav
info

[fabdavrav]

 

On 04/01/2024 at 22:50, SouthernComfort said:

... 

- Q. Would I be happy if the pilot of the A320 I'd just boarded announced that he preferred to fly 'old school' and turn the computers off?

 

 

 

On 05/01/2024 at 11:19, SouthernComfort said:

 I think you've taken an inch and leapt a mile. No worries. I expressed a view which I think was pretty clear. My opinion will inevitably counter the views of others, that's how it goes.

 

Noting the recent "problem" (infill panel detaching) with a Boeing 737-MAX aircraft, brought back info relevant to your above question....

 

Trusting 100% the computers to fly the aircraft & apparently having no real way to shut it off (without messing up other controls), allowed faulty software (MCAS) to crash two Boeing 737-MAX aircraft killing 346 people between the two crashes listed below.

 

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 - Wikipedia

 

Lion Air Flight 610 - Wikipedia

 

Going back to cars & lots of automated "safety systems":-

 

Insurance Companies have already been having numerous legal wrangles with legislators, software writers, & car makers as to who will be libel for causing deaths of drivers/passengers or pedestrians when a vehicle in "self-driving" mode kills somebody.....or it takes such action to save the occupants of the vehicle that it kills a bystander.....

 

Your life is worthless, you're just another number at the bottom a big corporation financial spreadsheet to be written off against tax...

Edited 6 January by fabdavrav
clarity

[SteveTheElder]

I'm beginning to get the feeling this thread may have been better as a simple "yes" / "no" poll.