Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keep Assist can be too intrusive

Today, the amount of technology in cars even at the lower end of the market can be impressive – a raft of driver assist technology that only ten years ago was not evident. And unlike the option list for comfort and convenience features in most cases the driver assist features are standard equipment. Some of the features are welcome others not so much and in some cases they are purely technology for technology sake. Two features today that I have trouble with are Lane Departure warning and Lane Keep Assist. A recent survey out of America on these features suggested that around 75 per cent of driver’s found them beneficial. However, there application from my experience can vary considerably between make and model. Certainly in motorway conditions they can be a blessing, in Europe for example where 1 in 4 crashes on motorway is caused by fatigue they work a treat – but in many of our driving conditions they can simply be an annoyance.
I’m David Berthon
.
Download this podcast here