It is kind of sad that it has come to this, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the NHTSA, that lovely group that gets absolutely torched in Congressional reviews has been on the warpath ever since Congress smacked them on the hand, along with ten major manufacturers, have come to an agreement that automatic braking will become standard equipment in new vehicles starting in Model Year 2016. What does that mean? In short, it means that when you are distracted and a series of sensors, cameras and computers notice an object in your traveling path, like a slower car, an animal, a rogue bush in front of your parking spot or little Timmy, who was never taught to not run out into the middle of the street, your new vehicle will slam on the brakes for you, hopefully shocking you well enough that you remove your eyes from your phone long enough to realize that you suck at driving.
Since a large amount of the North American market can’t drive worth a #&!!%, here’s a list of the manufacturers that are making automatic braking mandatory next year: Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. Nissan, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Subaru and FCA are, at the moment at least, not offering it.
Remember, you are getting automatic braking because people who don’t care about driving or their car somehow managed to find a half-hour one day to get a license. Since we can’t blame these underperforming individuals for the accidents, incidents and near-misses that they have caused, we will be saved from ourselves by technology, which they will then rely on, allowing them to slack off even more behind the wheel. Good job.
Curious how long it will take to hack the automated braking system when they arrive at a dealer near you!