... and we need this because........

[100K+]

After my slight rant in the "which current volvo volvo is your favourite" thread due to the number of "driver aids" being made available by Volvo, from the simple auto transmission, auto wipers, auto lights, auto rear tailgate, I found this on a volvo news room related to the Detroit motor show:-
Quote

New Traffic Jam assistance system next step towards autonomous driving.

Volvo Cars took further steps in the journey towards self-driving vehicles by presenting a new traffic jam assistance system. The new system, whereby the car automatically follows the vehicle in front in slow-moving queues up to 50 km/h, will be ready for production in 2014. This technology makes driving more relaxed in the kind of monotonous queuing that is a less attractive part of daily driving in urban areas. It offers safe, effortless drive in slow traffic.

Unquote

AARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!


My T5 is going to have to do another 200k miles - I won't be "chauffered" while in the driving seat.


Cheers

Bob

[DaveNP]

It sounds like it's related to the systems that a number of manufacturers are working on to enable individual vehicles to link into a virtual train. The advantage is much greater traffic density can be acheived as there's no need for a stopping distance gap between vehicles.

But I'm still with you, I'd rather drive myself thanks.

[Harvey1512]

There is some sense in this to stop the ripple effect of a lead car braking and stopping traffic 1 mile behind. At peak times could this help to keep traffic flowing?

The gut reaction is to fight back but in certain circumstances this could be a positive. Whether you trust the technology or not is another matter.

[christheancient]

There are already s-o-o-o-o many 'driver aids' in most modern cars that it is almost necessary to have a specialist course on some vehicles.

I think so much more time is spent learning how, fiddling with, and using driver aids that the distraction rate is far higher than it used to be.

My V70 (ph1) doesn't have

• automated wipers (which, when I had them, needed adjusting all the time) and now when I want to wipe the screen, I just use a simple switch.
• automated lights. When I need them, I switch them on and know that they are on
• Bluetooth phone connection because I won't use my phone in any manner when I'm driving. Nothing can be that urgent and voicemail is available! We used to manage without them for years!
• cruise control (my feet do that for me)
• etc... etc...

I did used to have a (company) car which had all sorts of whizzy doo dahs on it and I found I was spending more time adjusting and tweaking things than just doing it the 'old-fashioned way'.

Doing it the 'old-fashioned way' means I can actually concentrate on driving rather than wondering which 'do nowt' (an old Yorkshire expression) to tweak/twiddle/adjust next.

And if you need 'auto emergency braking' and 'separation distance' devices, should you really be driving in the first place?

/dismounts soap box

[S60 PNV]

Originally Posted by 100K+

After my slight rant in the "which current volvo volvo is your favourite" thread due to the number of "driver aids" being made available by Volvo, from the simple auto transmission, auto wipers, auto lights, auto rear tailgate, I found this on a volvo news room related to the Detroit motor show:-

Hmm.

New Traffic Jam assistance system next step towards autonomous driving.

Volvo Cars took further steps in the journey towards self-driving vehicles by presenting a new traffic jam assistance system. The new system, whereby the car automatically deploys a bulldozer bucket, will push aside any vehicles in front, plowing through slow-moving queues up to 50 km/h. This will be ready for production in 2013. This technology makes driving more relaxing in monotonous queuing by allowing the driver to vent their frustrations effectively and safely (for the Volvo driver only).

Fixed ?

[Volvo6]

Stuff like rain sensitive wipers always seemed to me like a bit of a gimmick that isn't actually that labour saving. Similarly who needs an auto shutting boot? I guess some people are too short to reach up? Just seems silly nonetheless.

However when it is dark and wet, I'm tired and have been driving for 10 hours+ I would be more than happy for the car to drive itself.

This technology even if it ever does come to pass is still a long way in the future and initially (with the system we are talking about here) at least would be motorways only. There is no pleasure particularly in driving on the motorway so I wouldn't have a problem with that.

It's not clear how this technology is going to pan out though; there seem to be two slightly different avenues of development going on. Stuff like the Google Driverless car which uses a rotating laser to build a picture of its surroundings and has already driven successfully in the US on public roads, including central San Francisco and the metropolitan bay area, is very interesting because it can operate in the existing traffic environment without a problem...it doesn't 'communicate' as such with other cars it is completely autonomous with a human driver able to intervene. Trouble is that it is hugely expensive technology that in its current form is unlikely to be commercially viable.

On the other hand the other avenue (which is nothing new as such, the first of these experiments were some years ago) seems to be the idea of 'motorway convoys' which is very good in theory because it could reduce motorway accidents caused by falling asleep or poor vis, make traffic flow more evenly and make long distance driving less tiresome. However in order for those benefits to be realised I would have though you need everyone 'running on the same system' as it were which has massive cost and practical issues.

No idea whether I will see it in my lifetime in common usage but I find the technology behind it very interesting...

[Volvo6]

Volvo Cars took further steps in the journey towards self-driving vehicles by presenting a new traffic jam assistance system. The new system, whereby the car automatically follows the vehicle in front in slow-moving queues up to 50 km/h, will be ready for production in 2014. This technology makes driving more relaxed in the kind of monotonous queuing that is a less attractive part of daily driving in urban areas. It offers safe, effortless drive in slow traffic.

In terms of that tech specifically though what is the difference between that and radar guided cruise control systems that have been around (although generally only on expensive cars) for a few years now?

[Ninja59]

Originally Posted by Volvo6

In terms of that tech specifically though what is the difference between that and radar guided cruise control systems that have been around (although generally only on expensive cars) for a few years now?

This actually follows the car in front not just reacting to it aka active cruise control.

I personally love cruise control for when on the motorway or in roadworks I can settle in at the maximum speed and not worry about it.

I also quite like the speed limiter I had in the S60 that i test drove.

Personally though I doubt I would buy a car without ESP or stability control or its other names. Namely one because of all that weight these modern cars have and secondly the differences in some videos with the same car with and without are startling.

This might sound wrong but I think I would find my next maybe volvo with the city safety purely for the insurance gains you get for a car with it. Although I cannot help but feel I might end up with a two seater without on my way probably an MX5 MK3.

The one thing one must remember though and which manufacturers love is that the driver is still responsible for overall control of the vehicle. Oh and for the record my previous car had NONE of these driver aids, so even on a day like today I do not take it for granted, it did not even have ABS - and now and again I do certainly turn off the spin control just to just to see, never taken the fuse out mind.

[Daim]

Boy is Volvo late with that function!

Merc has their "Distronic" or was that Audi? One of both has that function already in mass production... Weird if you sit in a jam next to one of those and the driver sits there reading a paper... Experienced that 2012 on a Dutch motorway!

[keithjeb]

Nothing can possibly be more of a solution lacking a problem than an electronic handbrake. Presently in a rental Passat with one, and its bloody awful, slow to engage, makes a racket, and rather ridiculously only disengages with the food brake on - very helpful when manouvering!