Could You Trust 'Automatic Parking Assist' After Watching This Video?
Ah, the advances of modern automotive technology. While I understand the good intentions behind Collision Avoidance systems, I'm still a little apprehensive at the idea of Drive Assist (and Driverless cars, but let's not jump too far ahead). Seeing someone in the driver's seat casually changing lanes on the interstate while playing Candy Crush with both hands (and no knees, either) would be a disconcerting sight today. Why? Because there is nothing "casual" about it — at least not yet.
Take the unfortunate soul in the above video, for example. Obviously, his loaner Cadillac's "Automatic Parking Assist" feature was enough of a novelty for him to feel the need to take out his phone and record it in action.*
While it may be a while before the steering wheel is completely nixed in modern car production, the days of "auto"-something are upon us, whether we like it or not. And after accidents like this Cadillac (or Google's self-driving Lexus SUV), the concept of self-driving technology brings up some interesting questions, like this one:
Who is held responsible for a Drive Assist crash? The driver, or the automaker?
The short answer: it depends. I won't go into all the legalities — I'll let you and our other readers talk it out.
So after all is said and done, do you trust Drive Assist technology? The guy in the video might need a little convincing after this... (or at least a car that uses both Drive Assist and Collision Avoidance.)
Disclaimer: The Cadillac driver attempted to leave a note, but after he went to quickly retrieve paper, the other car was gone. Whoops.
*Update: He is a Tesla owner who uses his Autopark feature regularly without a hitch, so he wanted to see if the loaner Cadillac's system would deliver the same result.
