THEY’VE CROSSED THE LINE
I’ve ridden motorcycles and driven cars now for over 50 years and gained great pleasure and enjoyment from doing so all over the UK and Europe. I’ve also taken both advanced driving tests. Unfortunately, I’ve just bought anew Volkswagen vehicle that complies with the latest EU safety requirements and find some of the so-called safety features are far more of an intrusion on the driving experience and a distraction from road safety. The active Lane Assist can be frightening. It can feel like someone has grabbed the steering wheel if you veer towards the lane markings. I’m sure this is a positive feature for motorways, but with the current state of the UK’s Aand B-roads, with poor road markings and broken surfaces, it’s potentially a hazard that could take you towards a cyclist, vehicle or large pothole. You can deactivate this feature when stationary by pressing multiple buttons, but it defaults back to active for the start of every journey – an EU requirement.
When reading motoring reviews and social media, it’s clear to me that lane keeping assistance technology is universally disliked. I believe the driver should have sole responsibility for making the necessary judgements and controlling the vehicle, but it appears the driver is no longer trusted to drive the vehicle appropriately.
Is this the end of the joy of motoring as we know it? For me, the pleasure has been taken away.
John Brittain, via email