Driving a car used to be a relaxing affair, with just the sound of the engine, whining gearbox, road and wind noise, and 8-track stereo to keep you company, but my modern car seems to beep at every opportunity and act like a geiger counter discovering the A-Bomb when I park – and that’s why it’s this week’s Tarmac Tantrum.
Yes I agree that new cars are safer, in fact I think I’ve seen videos of older benchmark Volvos coming off second best to modern hatch’s, but do they really have to beep so much, it’s unnerving (and yes, annoyinging).
ANCAP, (the local safety standard) seems to award the most stars for the most neurotic vehicle out there nowadays. I was recently behind the wheel of a modern hybrid that alerted me to cars ‘too close’ beside me or in front of me, speed signs, being ‘too close’ to white lines, the list went on – and barked like a excited yapping dog when I was in a downtown car park – is this all necessary I ask.
Some ‘Merican vehicles have taken these alerts to another level, offering up a vibrating driver’s seat to join in the beeps, Iguess it did its job BUT I thought I was having a seizure when a car crossed by my vehicle’s rear end!
With many car companies aiming for zero deaths in their vehicles, I can only assume that the beeps will increase, and we as drivers will have less and less say in how we drive, this in turn leads me to one of the biggest beeps of all – the censure one that covers my mouth when I think of totally automated driving!
