Reader question:
Me and my family are used to living in Arizona, but we’ve recently moved to Montana where there will be snow in the winter. We’re considering getting a new car, and we aren’t sure whether we should add the electronic stability control option. It makes me kind of nervous that any system would take things out of the driver’s hands and it seems like it could so easily go wrong. Is it worth the extra money?
Mindy
Yes, it is.
It’s true that many people are a little frightened at the idea that cars are being made to think for themselves, or at least think how they’re programmed, more and more. Instead of relying on your own reflexes, you are able to rely on whatever the car reacts as best, and since we live in a culture that is so obsessed but at the same time distrustful of machines, it’s hard to believe that letting a machine take control could ever be in your best interest, especially when it comes to a life or death situation. However, considering that most accidents are a result of human error and worsened by human error, wouldn’t it be a little better to get something into the picture that isn’t human and thus will react with logic instead of panic in a high intensity situation?
It’s worth that extra money, Mindy. Research shows that electronic stability control systems could help to avoid one third of all accidents. It’s an updated version of skid control that helps out in a lot of other areas as well. It helps with hitting the brakes at the right moment and then getting the vehicle back on track, something that a human driver might not be able to do if they are scared out of their wits.
These machines also have a higher reaction time than humans. They can jump into action before you even realize that something has gone wrong. Not only that, but an electronic stability suystem can hit the brakes ten to fifteen times a second, as opposed to a normal person who…well, can’t come anywhere near that. Being in control is not worth the risk that comes with having an unsafe vehicle in a state where conditions are often dangerous for driving.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.