Cell Phone Manuals

What would’ve have happened if I hadn’t stopped?

It’s an intriguing, and increasingly relevant, question as automakers pack their cars with ever more electronic nannies and the government ponders requiring things like back-up cameras. Semiautonomous systems are becoming more common as our cars do everything from keep us in our lanes to prevent us from hitting pedestrians. If any of these systems should fail, how would an insurance company deal with it?

We ran these questions past automakers, the insurance industry and attorneys. Although semiautonomous vehicle technology is evolving quickly and the day of the driverless car is within view, there’s broad agreement that drivers almost always are responsible for what happens with their cars. In those cases where the technology truly is to blame, the problem can be handled within the current legal framework.

the driver.

“Whether it’s lane assist or blind spot assist, they have the word ‘assist’ in there because we want to communicate that this is a tool to help the driver drive safely,” said Wade Newton. He’s the spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a public policy advocacy group for the auto industry. “I’m not aware of any automaker that markets those kind of devices as anything other than driver assist.”

In fact, many of these safety systems are meant to function without you even knowing they’re there. Their only purpose is to slam on the brakes or steer the car back into your lane if a collision is imminent. In other words, if you notice the systems at work, you’re doing it wrong. Put down the phone and drive.