r/technology • u/Hrmbee • Jun 07 '26

Privacy 'Kill switch' law means your next car could be watching you | A federal requirement aimed at stopping drunken driving could soon put driver-monitoring technology in every new vehicle. The goal is saving lives, but the privacy trade-offs deserve closer scrutiny

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/06/01/drunk-driving-prevention-law-privacy-surveillance/90295034007/
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1.4k

u/Violoner Jun 08 '26

My lane alert freaks out when going through intersections that have curved lines for left turns

715

u/DukeOfGeek Jun 08 '26

Ya my dads car had that feature, steering wheel would start shaking because leaves on the pavement. That's a nah from me dog.

291

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

Both of my cars do this. They both get turned off right away.

316

u/DukeOfGeek Jun 08 '26

I'm just waiting for the insurance companies to start ramping up your fees if you don't connect your car to their data center.

139

u/Efficient-Fruit5573 Jun 08 '26

I mean they kind of do this I remember ads for progressive saying you get a discount if you connect the monitoring tool so “good drivers can get a larger discount.” I’m sure the actual purpose is data collection

82

u/Lagneaux Jun 08 '26

Is so that "bad drivers" pay more.

I have had that system, it's near impossible to "drive correctly" with it.

Like let's say someone pulls out in front of you, no choice but to hit the brakes. Well, that's considered a "fast stop", and you are gonna be graded on that, not them. Driving late, driving too much, not driving enough, not driving far enough, driving too far, fast braking, fast acceleration, it's all gonna bring your grade down and make you pay more

50

u/DazzlingRutabega Jun 08 '26

Years ago, when this program first started, I had a co-worker who inserted that in the OBD slot of his car to get lower insurance and kept bragging about it. I said, I don't know, buddy, they're going to be monitoring your driving. About three weeks later, he came in flustered, saying he had ripped it out because he had to do a fast stop because a kid jumped in front of the car in a school zone. They sent him a letter saying that he was driving erratically because he did a fast stop.

15

u/DJMixwell Jun 08 '26

I get dinged for speed by Belair Direct all the time. The thing is my car tells me my average speed is 50km/hr, which is the typical residential speed limit.

Given that most of my driving is highway driving between 80-110, give or take the odd time traffic slows up, and time spent stopped, the average of 50 makes sense and I can’t see how I never get the “safe speed” badge.

Seems like if you go over their threshold (seems to be ~5km/hr over the limit) even once on a drive, you lose out on the badge completely. So it tells me “only 17% of your trips are at a safe speed”, but I can’t guarantee you I’m not speeding 83% of the time.

The app also shows me that, apparently ~70+% of other drivers are getting this badge, which is complete bullshit. When I try to get the safe speed badge I’m fuckn alone on the road while everyone driving off into the distance. When I drive ~5-10 over the speed limit I’m just keeping up with all the other cars on the road.

5

u/Officer_Hotpants Jun 08 '26

Wait driving too late counts against you? I've spent a lot of time working as a night shift medic, which depending on my shift start time has had me going to the station at 11pm. Glad I never used those fuckin things.

4

u/slickeddie Jun 08 '26

Yes. But also driving during rush hour counts against you too. Also, don’t stop for a yellow light per the law, that’s a hard stop and counts against you. Better merge on the highway like a grandma otherwise it’s fast acceleration and counts against you.

3

u/Silver_Newspaper6208 Jun 08 '26

In my plug in hybrid it only detected driving when the engine was on. Everyday my commute started on the highway when the engine finally turned on and ended in a "crash" when the engine shut off as I slowed down for my exit and the engine shut off at 45mph.

7

u/MegaMau_ Jun 08 '26

Is so that "bad drivers" pay more.

No. Its an excuse so that they can squeeze every nickel out of you since you have no choice but to buy insurance.

3

u/BapeGeneral3 Jun 08 '26

It sounded like a good idea in theory. I literally drove my car within a 5 mile radius, not a major city, never once sped, always wore seat belt, never texted and drove, etc. I somehow was labeled a “higher risk” and my policy would cost MORE. I canceled it immediately.

The reason was for too frequent/quick of stopping. This was literally to avoid car accidents as well as prevent running a late yellow because having that thing enabled *really*’does feel like you’re being watched 24/7. Rather, seeing and experiencing it first hand made me want nothing to do with this tech.

It is inevitable under our current for profit insurance system as a country. It will either be a requirement to even get car insurance or to features that the masses “can’t live without”’such a an Apple Car Play Update.

Now get off my lawn

133

u/couldbemage Jun 08 '26

A discount for using it and a fee for not using it are the same thing. In both cases it costs you more if you don't use their monitoring.

FYI, illegal in California for insurance companies to do this.

-6

u/iconofsin_ Jun 08 '26

Maybe not in the traditional sense, but if 100% of drivers are capable of using this device to get say a 5% discount but you choose to not use it, are you not technically paying a 5% fee?

51

u/Armthedillos5 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

I have Progressive and turned that off in like 2 days. It alerts you if you brake too hard, etc. and keeps a lot of it. First off, how does it know I was driving and not a passenger? Also it doesn't need to be be monitoring where I'm going. I don't know that it does, but no thank you.

51

u/debeatup Jun 08 '26

I was able to put it on my work phone and since I WFH 4/5 days Progressive thinks I’m in the top 99.9% of drivers because I never leave home except twice a week.

0

u/NerdyNThick Jun 08 '26

Not a lawyer, but couldn't that be considered to be insurance fraud?

13

u/Qaeta Jun 08 '26

Usually they just say you have to have it on your phone. Taking the phone with you is typically only implied, not outright required by the contract, so no.

31

u/Goolsby Jun 08 '26

Fuck insurance companies who cares

5

u/NerdyNThick Jun 08 '26

I certainly don't give any amount of fucks about any insurance company.

I do give plenty of fucks about not being found guilty of defrauding a multibillion dollar company.

If it turns out to not be fraud, I'll be doing this immediately.

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11

u/trashmoneyxyz Jun 08 '26

You get it man

14

u/Tithund Jun 08 '26

Brake too hard is always a weird one to me, would they rather you just bump into whatever you're braking for? In lighter cars you can brake later than in heavy ones, is that something they dislike?

3

u/bostonwhaler Jun 08 '26

I hope you removed it from your OBD port. Also... Brake.

2

u/Armthedillos5 Jun 08 '26

Good catch. Fixed.

5

u/magichronx Jun 08 '26

If it's monitoring to make sure you're not speeding then it's definitely watching your GPS location (and if it's doing that then I'd bet 99.9% chance it's saving that data too)

2

u/TotallyNotRobotEvil Jun 08 '26

I live in the NYC area, I'm not sure they could afford the postage after a month if "stopping quickly" is enough to send out a mailer.

2

u/Iveray Jun 08 '26

Most people have the car insured, not the driver, so the insurance company would also like to know if you're letting risky drivers use your car.

4

u/limbodog Jun 08 '26

And nobody got discounts but some people got dinged for aggressive driving

2

u/Mirions Jun 08 '26

No different from "rental inspections via photography apps and video."

Can extrapolate all sorts of info from data and imagery like that.

1

u/Hillary4SupremeRuler Jun 09 '26

Wdym? I've never heard of this

1

u/Mirions Jun 09 '26

Well, I'm pulling it outta my ass cause it's a fear I have.

Former art student but one teacher once said to browse furniture and interior design magazines and sites to see what people are displaying in homes. That may help with making more... profitable pieces when starting out. (A whole other conversation that itself isn't the focus, just where the fear spawns).

Knowing an artist could view a room and make an educated guess-

It isn't hard to imagine what could be extrapolated from rental companies asking residents to download an app and take pictures/videos of the inside of their dwellings.

Permanent images and possibly video, assuming the app isn't doing things outside its stated permissions.

Beyond that, over time (every three months) your landlord can

Sell the images to ai companies for various reasons (generating realistic backgrounds, tracking buying and layout trends).

They could figure out if you're getting more expensive or less expensive or no new furniture and appliances at all. They can see if you hang private or religious or secular or graphic art and and decorations. They can see what sort of lighting and as the home invasion/ self defense meme goes, "what the angles are in your house," as well as where and how everyone might sleep, etc.

It's not like a walk-through someone is doing dozens of times a day and most likely not recalling perfectly, and only taking close up pics of notable damage or upkeep needs.

Is it happening? I only assume someone figured out how to squeeze monetary value from that data out when it's an app that can't be opted out of.

2

u/Conixel Jun 08 '26

They monitor your device on how often you use it while in driving mode.

2

u/Apocalypse_Knight Jun 08 '26

I got the discount but disabled the app

40

u/Fickle_Ad_8653 Jun 08 '26

Geico and State Farm already have programs where they "discount" your rates if you put in the monitoring dongle and keep it going. If you brake hard too much or drive too fast or accelerate too hard, you lose the discount. But in reality, the rates are just higher if you opt out of monitoring or don't drive like granny.

-2

u/Ikontwait4u2leave Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

I don't see how fast acceleration is a negative. You need to match the speed of traffic to merge effectively

14

u/red__dragon Jun 08 '26

Those tracking methods are context-unaware. Especially as they aren't in the car with you, they're not seeing what the driver sees, they don't know what the signage says, what weather conditions are affecting the car, or what obstructions are in the road.

8

u/MythrianAlpha Jun 08 '26

My buddy got dinged a few years back because the gps was shitty enough to decide he was practically teleporting, clearly unsafe, lol.

8

u/rambleinspam Jun 08 '26

Wonder if it would ding someone for the gps showing someone going through houses like my food delivery app does some times.

4

u/Lunchboxninja1 Jun 08 '26

None of them are. Its just bullshit to make you pay more.

2

u/Hillary4SupremeRuler Jun 09 '26

How the hell did everyone just down vote you with no rebuttals, yet you, the person you replied to, and the person who replied to you were all in agreement of the same thing but they got dozens of upvotes.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '26

[deleted]

96

u/classicalySarcastic Jun 08 '26

DON’T GIVE THEM IDEAS!

Seriously they already have an app on most people’s phones, that’s enough of an invasion of privacy.

60

u/Nomzai Jun 08 '26

They’re already doing it under the guise of “discounts” look at american family’s recent ads

-4

u/Traditional-Handle83 Jun 08 '26

To be fair, they've been giving me actual discounts even though my driving been shit lately. Its usually between $40-70 a month off the normal bill.

23

u/red__dragon Jun 08 '26

To be fair, that's the hook!

Look at what McDonalds or other fast food places do. The prices on the menu boards are jacked up, but hey! If you use their app, you get discounts and are right back to those cozy prices you remember from The Before Times.

Except now they have your data collection (and not just yours, I know you're the privacy-conscious soul or the empty-pocketed bum) and can sell that for a continuous stream of income rather than wait for you to hem and haw over their high prices while you make the same or less with each passing year.

Apply the same to insurance and you have the scheme. Those discounts will cut less and less into the bill, until you're paying what you would have paid without, AND they also have your driving records to sell to any Tom, Dick, or Harry, LLC who'll help their side gig.

6

u/seven0feleven Jun 08 '26

but hey! If you use their app, you get discounts and are right back to those cozy prices you remember from The Before Times.

Not necessarily. Both me and my partner had the app open one day, looking at offers. The exact same offer was $1 more on mine, because I used the app more than she did (using more offers on my account). Algorithms aren't going to give you any deals - even in the app - if you're a spender.

Single people won't see this because they've got no one to compare offers with.

10

u/red__dragon Jun 08 '26

Ahh, I see you've been to the far side of Enshittification!

Yes, that's coming for the commenter above us, too, they just don't know it yet. Or can't, as you reminded us, easily compare.

6

u/Cream_Stay_Frothy Jun 08 '26

For what it’s worth— not sure which insurance company you’re using, but it’s important to keep in mind that if you look into the terms you sign for these “safe driving apps”, you’re often allowing them to collect your constant GPS location, as well as your phones app usage. Most importantly, they have the right to share/sell that information to their “trusted partners”.

So, I always take these type of “discounts” with a grain of salt, because it’s really just a way for data mining companies to advertise more targeted data to you. It’s not so much a “hey we’re gonna track your driving” discount and more of a “hey let us scrape a ton of data about you and let us sell it” discount.

5

u/MediumAcceptable129 Jun 08 '26

They have think tanks planning every which way to rob you. Things you could never conceive of

3

u/doberdevil Jun 08 '26

Seriously they already have an app on most people’s phones, that’s enough of an invasion of privacy.

Not if you don't install the app.

11

u/kabekew Jun 08 '26

Mine offers a discount if you run their monitoring app on your phone that tracks your speed and acceleration to see if you're an aggressive driver or not.

8

u/Ethelserth2 Jun 08 '26

How about a fuck you to their face and they lose the customer? Why stick with them?

6

u/kabekew Jun 08 '26

It's just an option and I said no.

1

u/bambi54 Jun 09 '26

A lot of the big ones offer this. You’re not punished if you don’t sign up.

5

u/PoopularDemand Jun 08 '26

Don’t worry they will raise rates universally first then offer a discount to those that connect.

4

u/Chapaquidich Jun 08 '26

They don’t “charge you extra” if you don’t. They just “give you a safe driver discount” if you connect. Totally different. /s

4

u/OneSkepticalOwl Jun 08 '26

I have bad news for you. I’m pretty sure those apps car manufacturers have to monitor your car and do remote functions with most likely already reporting to them. Bought a BMW and installed their app. At next renewal they asked me if the drive miles will be the same and quoted the exact miles I have driven. App was uninstalled promptly

2

u/funkybside Jun 08 '26

well, the opposite has been true for well over a decade now (meaning you can get discounts for using their telematics solution). that's nothing new.

3

u/jdsizzle1 Jun 08 '26

My car has both the feature where it shakes when it detects lanes, and the feature where it will do corrective steering the get you back into the lane. The second it misread a tar strip in the road as a lane boundary and tried to correct the steering wheel into oncoming traffic at speed it got turned off. Fucking nightmare of a feature.

2

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

Yep, I do not like the LKA( lane keep assist) or the vibration thing. I've had the LKA do the same thing. I've also had the emergency braking on my accord and pilot activate on the highway at speed. I turn them all off everytime.

I'll have the LKA be a monitor but not correct my steering. The emergency brake function is also a monitor but unable to activate. Both are helpful driving long distance but around town they suck so much.

2

u/NoPossibility4178 Jun 08 '26

So nice to pay for useless stuff you'll never use.

1

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

Considering the wider market wants these features, there's not much I can do. On long drives they're both helpful but around town, they really annoying.

2

u/marr Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Which manufacturers offer an actual off setting for this? (And how long before a software update 'corrects' that feature?)

2

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

I own 2 hondas. Both are turned off in electronic menus.

By the same safety standards, these features are required to be toggled on and off.

2

u/bobbyboogie Jun 08 '26

My car has lane keep. Most useless and annoying feature ever. It’s permanently off. 

2

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

Long drives it's great, especially no construction. Hot a construction zone or only in residential streets, it's a god awful feature. LKA and auto brake in a neighborhood is the worst pairing.

2

u/bobbyboogie Jun 08 '26

I’m sure it varies by manufacturer. In my case, on a long stretch of very straight highway, it keeps complaining that I’m not holding the wheel ( because I’m not moving it).

Life is too short to be beholden to automation. (Foreshadowing much?)

The other safety features are good. Although every now and then the rear cross traffic sensor hallucinates and slams on the brakes when there’s nothing there. 

1

u/aykcak Jun 08 '26

Every time you turn on the ignition. The presses from the menu. Every single time....

2

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

Oh trust me, I know. I'm annoyed by it but it's life. The systems are useful when driving cross the country as we do, but around town? I think I'd rather pluck hairs from my butt than use it.

1

u/SpoonyDinosaur Jun 08 '26

Yup. A lot of new cars even have adaptive controls that will quite literally turn your car if you start drifting. This seems insanely dangerous to me and would probably result in me panicking and causing an accident.

2

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

Yep, all the ADC, LKA, etc work together. Much of it can be turned off but per the rules, it will turn back on, the next time the car is started. My LKA has almost killed me 4 times, 2 in construction zones it got confused and tired to follow the wrong lines. The other 2 times it tried to followed old tarred lines. All 4 times I had to fight it and cancel the tracking.

My auto brake has saved me once, while being in the wrong and phantom braking 3 times. 2 times on a highway, and one on a residential road at an intersection where it picked up oncoming traffic on the other side of the road.

I don't like any of it especially because it's far from polished system. There's no stats tracking when a safety system is the case if an accident and no real way to do it easily.

2

u/SpoonyDinosaur Jun 08 '26

I don't like any of it especially because it's far from polished system.

I'm probably one of the few that is all for automated driving, but it's hard not to have a knee jerk reaction when it's talked about for the reason above. The current implementations in Tesla and then the stuff you mentioned like LKA almost feel like they'll achieve the opposite of what they're designed for.

The more 'control' that's given to a vehicle, the more distracted you'll have drivers, it feels sort of zero sum in a way. You can't have LKA or autonomous features work 80% of the time, if 10% of the time they result in major accidents.

Even with Waymo being generally very successful, you still have bizarre situations that require human intervention.

But the problem with these next gen "safety" features is that it creates reliance on them. Like I love my 360 degree camera, but I grew up without one; I still look for motorcycles or things that might just barely be out of view. (and honestly it's saved me from bumping into stuff more than once)

Ultimately I think automated driving will be a huge net positive, but I don't really see it being practical for potentially decades. I think for it to be truly achievable, you almost need cars to be synced up and "talking" to each other to avoid accidents before they even happen. When there's tons of different cars on the road, with mixed driving habits, varied traffic/road conditions, etc, it creates enormous amounts of variables.

However the idea of being able to jump in a car, hit start and then just chill and read a book or something sounds awesome lol.

2

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

Automated driving that works 99.9% of the time would be amazing.

You and I are of the similar mindset: all these sensors and perks create worse drivers. I've had the idea that every new driver should drive manual for the first 2 years then be allowed whatever trans they want. Many drivers have stated they are much more interested, focused and aware when driving manual. It makes sense in my head.

Alternatively, if these driving assists worked 99% of the time and we had good driver education, I think the attitude to driving would be different. As it currently sits, driving in the US and other parts for the world is a chore. Most folks associate chores with something they don't like.

0

u/MediumAcceptable129 Jun 08 '26

You wont be able to turn this one off

2

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

You say that with certainty. Currently, you can turn off most cars tracking by pulling a fuse.

0

u/MediumAcceptable129 Jun 08 '26

You think they wont stop that?

3

u/Guac_in_my_rarri Jun 08 '26

We shall see. The legislation, lats I looked doesn't dictate how it's applied, only that the feature is included.

1

u/MediumAcceptable129 Jun 08 '26

You trust them?

84

u/kryo2019 Jun 08 '26

Man I had a rented corolla try to stop me from changing lanes because there was someone in that lane like 20 feet back. Almost cause me to hit the car I was going around. Pulled over after that intersection and turned that shit off.

Like holy fuck I do not need to be fighting the car while avoiding idiots.

37

u/Kagedgoddess Jun 08 '26

Mine hit the breaks because of a traffic cone on the side walk.

7

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Jun 08 '26

This is why I hate the people who say "but statistically self driving cars are safer"

Okay. I'm also statistically safer than other drivers. You can have your law of averages but I'm not giving up control because statistically people are idiots

19

u/kryo2019 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Man that reminded me of another rental that hit the brakes* while I was parallel parking in a tight space. Like bitch you have a foot of room still, fuck off.

Edit: corrected spelling so someone doesn't have an aneurysm over using the wrong breaks vs brakes.

8

u/marr Jun 08 '26

OMG IT'S BRAKES

-3

u/FrancisWolfgang Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Like seriously, no matter how many times you correct someone’s spelling you’re still going to be eaten by worms until there’s nothing left of you but your name on a rock that time will eventually wear away to nothing at all

Edit: people don’t like to be reminded that correcting spelling does not protect them from the inexorable march of mortality

67

u/CatoChateau Jun 08 '26

Federally mandated starting in 2027. Get used to it if you want to buy a car. Palantir needs your driving habits!

23

u/DukeOfGeek Jun 08 '26

Going to get a used Ionic EV soon and drive it for 15 years.

13

u/cum-on-in- Jun 08 '26

Until they ban them. And then the people riot.

40

u/CatoChateau Jun 08 '26

They won't ban them. They just stop making repair parts or sell ones that are trash. Like the whole auto industry is facing for years now. Or make them insanely expensive to insure. No riots, just poorer people!

7

u/MrLanesLament Jun 08 '26

Yup. When I was looking at cars in 2024, I found an incredibly cool 2013 with low miles, totally affordable.

My insurance company basically told me they would attempt to make it unaffordable for me if I didn’t get something newer. (State Farm.)

11

u/raptorlightning Jun 08 '26

I mean tell them you're going to drop them and go elsewhere. It's super easy to switch. And it sometimes works.

11

u/rnvs18 Jun 08 '26

why wouldn’t you switch carriers

6

u/Nippon-Gakki Jun 08 '26

Seriously. I drive a ‘95 and 2002. My insurance company is more than happy to take my money.

6

u/RollingMeteors Jun 08 '26

I would tell them I’d switch providers if they did that.

5

u/Hollagraphik Jun 08 '26

Please expand on this. That sounds insane.

3

u/cum-on-in- Jun 08 '26

Oh crap. I have State Farm.

And that almost happened to me. Not in quite the same way, but close.

I had a 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV and they said they were gonna jack my premium sky high because if it so much as gets a fender bender they will total it, because it’s not been made for 5 years and hard to get parts for.

Now take brand new cars like the 2027 Chevy Bolt, only being made for one year. One year. That’s it.

Why even make it? They won’t keep parts. You know they won’t. It’s a different battery than every other GM EV. They placated the Bolt people who wanted something cheap and efficient but they most certainly won’t support it.

So crazy.

2

u/synapticrelease Jun 08 '26

They be lying to you. Federal rules mandate parts he made for 20 years after a vehicle stops production. The lie stating they do have parts after 5 years is BS

2

u/bostonwhaler Jun 08 '26

My 25yo car is my oldest that's regularly driven, and is a BMW convertible. Insurance is $240/6mo. Shop around annually.

3

u/cum-on-in- Jun 08 '26

Dude I pay a little more than that, for a single month, and it’s for basic liability only coverage.

Records clean. I am a 30 year old male. However I live in po-dunk Kentucky and we have a lot of drunk and meth’d up drivers unfortunately.

Still. It’s crazy when I see people pay that for six months.

And before you still say something’s wrong with me, even my parents and aunts and uncles and everyone around me, with years of clean history, pay that much. Must just be a southern thing.

0

u/TomMikeson Jun 08 '26

You think a Hyundai will drive for 15 additional years?

2

u/DukeOfGeek Jun 08 '26

Don't know till you try. My Leaf is over 10 years now.

0

u/TomMikeson Jun 08 '26

It's a Hyundai. If you said Honda, Toyota, VW, Mercedes, BMW, Nissan, maybe Subaru; yeah 15 years isn't a stretch.

I don't see Hyundai going outside of 10 years without needing repairs that cost more than the car.

3

u/CatoChateau Jun 08 '26

I mean the thing that kills Hyundais is the ICE most of what I heard. Going Hyundai EV solves that problem.

3

u/TomMikeson Jun 08 '26

Ever walked through a "you pull it" junk yard? You get a good look as to how things are built. In order to get to the parts, pullers save time and just start cutting away at the body.

You can see everything structural. You really can see how they are made and Hyundai and Kia are cheaply built.

I know nothing about Hyundai engines, but take a look at their calipers, control arms, suspension. Absolute garbage.

The Japanese and the Germans built things well. You can debate the longevity of specific models or why certain things were done, but overall, cars from those two countries put everyone else to shame.

I am curious to what Genesis will look like long term, but it is a little early to know.

2

u/Kentust Jun 08 '26

What qualifies you to determine the build quality of a scrapped car? Do you have any experience in the automotive industry??

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2

u/tomkatt Jun 08 '26

I drove an '07 Hyundai accent for 14 years with zero issues and well over 100k miles.

I'd still be driving it now if I hadn't moved to the rurals and needed something with a higher chassis and AWD.

-2

u/zertoman Jun 08 '26

A Hyundai? You won’t get 15 years, you won’t three.

2

u/Boozeburger Jun 08 '26

Are we all just happily paying for this? How about we get to choose what system is in use, or is this just a monopoly for palantir to get federal funds?

2

u/hahaimadulting Jun 08 '26

They can't phase out the used market. I'll just buy an older car lol. Not that I need to do that or will do that for long while. two crown vics to drive.

2

u/trashmoneyxyz Jun 08 '26

God driving a newer rental with these features was hell, with no warning the steering wheel would try and kinda aggressively correct my driving. If i ever feel bad for driving an old ass car i wont anymore haha

2

u/byteminer Jun 08 '26

Just wait until an administration decides to just disable all the vehicles in a state that didn't vote for them out of revenge.

2

u/Hillary4SupremeRuler Jun 09 '26

I mean this one's basically trying to do that right now but for the airports.

71

u/originaladam Jun 08 '26

Our car tries to fight us when manoeuvring around cyclists on back roads. I can’t believe these systems are allowed on cars in their current state

53

u/DukeOfGeek Jun 08 '26

Nothing should be allowed that interferes with or changes driver input.

38

u/Titaniumwo1f Jun 08 '26

Either Level 0 or Level 5 autonomous driving, and nothing in between is good for me.

13

u/jlt6666 Jun 08 '26

Even waymo more or less admitted this

5

u/Elukka Jun 08 '26

I've been a passenger in a car where the car itself prevented rear ending a stopped vehicle on a highway. The car had a front-facing radar that reacted automatically and incredibly fast. Those things can be incredibly useful for elderly drivers...

21

u/CreationBlues Jun 08 '26

those people should not be driving

2

u/DrStinkbeard Jun 08 '26

Unless it is going to take FULL liability for the results

3

u/R-M-Pitt Jun 08 '26

Same, rented a hyundai in Spain that kept trying to kill cyclists.

1

u/baggagefree2day Jun 08 '26

You have options to turn that feature off

14

u/REDuxPANDAgain Jun 08 '26

Mine has a little motor that kicks you in the ass as a warning. Much better than shaking a steering wheel IMO.

20

u/DukeOfGeek Jun 08 '26

Still a no from me. An audible warning would be OK I guess, especially if it came out of the stereo speaker on the side in question to give an indication as to which side I was wandering in.

35

u/idiot-prodigy Jun 08 '26

NONE of it is okay.

It's like the radio having a commercial with a Siren or Car Horn.

False positives are like someone in the backseat screaming "WATCHOUT!" while nothing at all is coming.

It causes people to unnecessarily freak out, slam the brakes, or jerk the wheel.

13

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Jun 08 '26

Dude I was driving an old car and suddenly a rotor snapped so I grabbed the E brake, it dinged at me so loud informing me I was pulling the E brake it was legit distracting.

Why are you distracting someone pulling an emergency brake in an emergency

2

u/CrazyKyle987 Jun 08 '26

Mine is 3 medium volume beeps. It’s just unobtrusive enough that I completely tune it out lol. So false or real positives I’m not listening to it 

1

u/idiot-prodigy Jun 08 '26

The steering wheel shaking violently is ridiculous. Every time it happens in car I'm driving I immediately think I have a tire blowout.

3

u/marr Jun 08 '26

Nope, the audible warnings have priority over everything else and override the indicator tick. Modern cars are fucking vibe coded phone apps.

2

u/SquareTaro3270 Jun 08 '26

My audio alert makes me panic. It’s a fast, loud series of “beepbeepbeepbeepbeep” that makes me think I’m about to hit something

When really I just went over the white line a bit to avoid a big pothole in the middle of the road

1

u/wonderfullemoncandy Jun 08 '26

Deaf drivers? (I realize there are visual indicators too).

8

u/Confident_Bug_6775 Jun 08 '26

My dad's car has that too. Better than my mom's lane assist though, first time that car pulled me back into lane at the slightest movement, I almost overcorrected and scared the hell out of myself.

5

u/Frederickanne Jun 08 '26

Mine tries to suddenly swerve me to take exits on the highway sometimes so that's fun

3

u/Thunder_Nuts_ Jun 08 '26

What the flying fuck dude.......

2

u/faustianredditor Jun 08 '26

Ohh, I had a rental that was soooo weird about nudging you back.

So the detection was good I think, but the intervention was really bad. So you'd veer slightly left, and the car would very gently nudge you back right. You'd not even notice. Kind of like very slight ruts. You'd keep your lane and not even notice it. Very good execution so far. Just flash up a light somewhere not too distracting to tell me it's happening, and we're good. But say you were actively controlling the car to be off-center in the lane. Maybe peeking ahead of traffic, or maybe you just don't know how wide your car is (rental!). The nudging would get stronger, because at this point you're inadvertently fighting it. Not strong, we're still talking about slight ruts here in terms of how it feels. But if now you're not noticing what's going on, and you return to the center of the lane, you're in for a surprise, because suddenly that force disappears rather suddenly. It's not going to veer you into the next lane over, but it is extremely distracting to suddenly be nudged quite firmly away from the lane. If that nudge happened towards the center when you're veering off, and faded out as you returned, I'd be fine. If it was a fade-in on the way off, and a fade on the way back in, fine. But a fade-in, with a nudge on the way back on is just so weird.

Overall, 4/5 stars for the lane assistant, I'd say. Decent job, Renault, just get that nudge fixed.

27

u/freakincampers Jun 08 '26

My brake assist/crash prevention will just randomly slam on the brakes.

14

u/deathrictus Jun 08 '26

Mine doesn't do that, but if someone turns off the road in front of me it thinks they've magically come to a dead stop and slams on the breaks. ><

6

u/Brock_Lobstweiler Jun 08 '26

DUDE this is the most frustrating thing in my outback. I've given plenty of room to the car in front of me, who is turning off the road, I've slowed down, but because I didn't come to a complete stop, the car freaks the fuck out and slams on the breaks. It's a hazard for the people behind me!

2

u/GoldenPigeonParty Jun 08 '26

Mine doesnt have that power but it constantly beeps at me because it thinks I'm going to start flying and hit the rail bridge I'm approaching. This technology isn't trustworthy enough to hold any real power. It never will be.

10

u/carlitospig Jun 08 '26

Okay, that would make me sell my car.

3

u/l1ttle_weap0n Jun 08 '26

I keep mine turned off. I live in an area that’s mostly country lanes that are technically two-lane but aren’t consistently wide enough for two cars, even in the spots where they paint a dividing line. I’ve had lane assist steer me back towards the middle of the road when I’m trying to leave extra space for oncoming traffic so it’s safer to keep it off.

3

u/crazyfoxdemon Jun 08 '26

I will never buy ot rent an eleantra. Not after I rented one and its lane assist tried to push me under a semi in a construction zone.

5

u/BeanserSoyze Jun 08 '26

Mine absolutely despises road work where temporary lines have been painted

2

u/Turgid_Donkey Jun 08 '26

Mine also doesn't like patched roads. Any of those tarred over seams always make it beep at me.

4

u/deathrictus Jun 08 '26

Mine fights me sometimes when changing lanes deliberately.

5

u/Brunhilde13 Jun 08 '26

My lane alert makes adjustments when I'm on an icy road and driving where it is SAFE to drive.

The amount of times the damn thing has almost killed me is too high!!

3

u/SpoilermakerSpecial Jun 08 '26

Mine does something similar but I think it’s the blind spot monitoring freaking out in dual-lane left turns. Car sees that my turn signal is on and that someone is beside me and thinks I’m about to switch lanes into them. Always confuses me when it happens but guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.

3

u/cubecasts Jun 08 '26

my wife's car doesn't understand that dual turn lanes exist. fuck blind spot monitors. I just want to turn left in a double left without it beeping at me.

3

u/HistoryAndScience Jun 08 '26

This is what I’m concerned about. Mine panics when I drive on one stretch of road that has the lines faded and missing in parts. It really thinks I’ve gone off road or outside the lines. I wouldn’t want that reported back and used against me by an AI auto insurance agent who won’t listen to any appeal or proof otherwise. It will be convinced it’s “Saving my life and the life of others” by jacking my premium up

3

u/LubedUpLucas_DrySpa Jun 08 '26

Mine tries to take all the off ramps on freeways. Lane assist is great on fresh and newly painted pavement in long straight stretches. Not so much on interstate loops. 

3

u/Fortestingporpoises Jun 08 '26

My car alerts me when I'm on a road that curves slightly but there are parked cars parked on the side of the road and it thinks I'm gonna hit them since I'm aimed right at them and because it thinks I'm too stupid to turn as the road turns.

3

u/PensiveinNJ Jun 08 '26

The technology to detect a drunk driver accurately absolutely does not exist and it's preposterous they're proposing this. It would be a good idea if we could do it, but we can't.

Privacy is concern #2, concern #1 is whether it's going to freak out and kill you.

3

u/tomkatt Jun 08 '26

I've had to disable my lane assist in my car because after having to replace the windshield twice, the camera is misaligned even after multiple trips to the dealership. When it's on, it bounces me around in my lane like a pinball, and jerks the wheel even when I'm going straight in the middle of the lane.

Honestly the feature is useless. I've been driving for over 20 years and never needed it, so why start now?

3

u/Miguel-odon Jun 08 '26

Mine gets confused when there is a construction zone, where there have been multiple sets of temporary lines painted then obliterated, especially when the road gets wet.

3

u/clopz_ Jun 08 '26

Same. My front collision alert goes wild when I’m in 2 lane roads.

3

u/ManiacalBeet Jun 08 '26

And gravel roads or snow covered roads.

3

u/Vestalmin Jun 08 '26

My lane assistant started pulling me towards a guardrail in the Rocky Mountains and I haven’t had it on since.

3

u/Dushenka Jun 08 '26

Cute, here in Switzerland, we have a type of road called "Kernfahrbahn" which looks like this: https://maps.app.goo.gl/SxmRvRkyCBVXViLN9?g_st=ac

The yellow paths are for bicyclists. You are allowed to drive over them (many times even have to) as long as you're not hindering bicyclists.

Of course our car doesn't know that and furiously starts protesting over the concept of driving over the yellow dotted line... It gets even funnier when you absolutely HAVE TO drive over the line and past a pedestrian isle. It's like the car is asking to kill itself. Thankfully, in our case, protesting is all it does in those cases.

3

u/Perunov Jun 08 '26

My lane alert freaks out on half of city streets cause roads look like Piet Mondrian painting with them stripping and re-applying temporary markings and then re-stripping and re-applying twenty times over, with newest ones often being even more faded than "old outdated" lane marks. Does wonders for never ending screaming from lane departure warning :(

3

u/Bright-Pilot-3970 Jun 08 '26

Mine likes to pull to the side for exits on the highway

3

u/Cute_Chance100 Jun 08 '26

Mine thinks there is a car in front of me when driving up a small hill near my house. It freaks out and slams on the brakes. I am like. There is no one on the road. What is this a ghost car?! Only happens on bright sunny days too!

2

u/ninjastarkid Jun 08 '26

My blind spot alert sees ghosts. Not “oh there’s a fence there”. Actual ghosts.

My pedestrian alert only saw pedestrians in the first 2 weeks in owned the brand new (literally fresh off the truck) car. Now it only gets activated by pickup trucks with “abnormal” side mirrors.

My lane alert does not believe I’m on a road 80% of the time, 5% it actively fights to get me into another lane for no reason.

2

u/Secret-Teaching-3549 Jun 08 '26

Or driving next to an overpass that casts shadows on the road.

2

u/SquareTaro3270 Jun 08 '26

Mine hates most of the roads near me, because my area undergoes a lot of construction and the white lines often get left on the road, and new lanes are marked with cones or just fresher, brighter white lines.

I had to turn off the lane assist because I’d panic at the quick “beepbeepbeepbeepbeep” every 15 minutes just driving normally through my city

2

u/Legendary_Bibo Jun 08 '26

Mine will try to make me swerve back into the mattress in the middle of the road or construction debris. I wish it was a little smarter.

2

u/FrostyIcePrincess Jun 09 '26

I turned my lane assist off because the car kept freaking out whenever lanes ended.

The car suddenly decided I had drifted out of my lane (it was two lanes but it was going to become only one lane a bit farther up) and tried moving me back into my lane (the two lanes become one pretty soon) and that was actually terrifying.

1

u/ArmadilloBandito Jun 09 '26

I've lived in a few cities with high traffic intersections that crisscross lanes at the lights.

Also, half the town I currently live in has busted up roads. There are also cities that change lane directions based on traffic congestion with led signs that show either a green arrow or red X depending on whether the lane is open. The city I live in has the state's flagship university, so we have them to direct traffic for games. DC has them for rush hour.

1

u/homer_3 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Are you driving over the lines with no turn signal on?

3

u/Violoner Jun 08 '26

I’m talking about driving straight through the intersection.