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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Andrew Herrick

‘In this new car, I feel patronised’: which driver assistance systems actually improve safety?

Smart car with sensors illustration
Lane-keeping assist technology and autonomous emergency braking will be mandated for passenger vehicles imported into Australia from March 2029. But research has also identified problems with existing driver-assistance technology. Illustration: Getty Images

This new car I’m test-driving boasts all the latest bells and whistles – or, rather, beeps and bings. Peer sideways for too long checking traffic and the car emits an irritating sound. Should I take a hand off the wheel to scratch an ear, I’m admonished with a strident beep.

When the car determines it’s too near a white line, it tugs the wheel against my hands and brakes as a car slows ahead. Its haptic “buttons” feel like fingers pressing back – as if an invisible presence has its hands and feet on the controls: a ghost in the machine I’m inside.

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