By Catherine Powell
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| Image courtesy Pixabay |
If you own or lease a late model vehicle, chances are it comes equipped with some kind of driver-assist feature that's designed to reduce some of the burden of driving. While things like cruise control, lane assist, and blind spot monitoring are designed to enhance safety, the more that onboard automation increases, the more likely it is for drivers to allow their attention to wander from the road. Recent studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicated that advanced driver-assist features have led some motorists to shirk their responsibility by doing such things as eating, reading or texting instead of keeping their eyes on the road. This has led to a number of highly publicized accidents that were caused when drivers failed to take control away from automated vehicles when conditions warranted they do so. Since the amount of onboard automation is only likely to increase in the future, I thought I'd take the time to explain what you need to know to keep automotive safety features from doing exactly the opposite of what they were intended to do.
