GM’s Hand Free Cadillac… Good or Bad?

This post is about new Technology and how it is being used in the world today!

General Motor’s announced yesterday, September 8^th, that they will be releasing hands free model Cadillacs in 2016. Now don’t get too excited, they are not “completely” hands free. According to the report by BBC news, the cars will be fitted with vehicle-to-vehicle communication that will enable drivers using cruise control at high speeds to not have to worry about other drivers, but instead the cars themselves will be able to slow themselves, and maintain speed in one lane. The first car to be equipped with the technology will be the 2017 Cadillac CTS sedan. I know for sure I am not the only one who has ever been driving and wished that you could just put the car on auto pilot and kick back, read a book, take a nap, eat, or watch a movie. Well unfortunately we are not there quite yet. Although the car will have a much smarter cruise control that doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay attention to the road. The car will be able to maintain speed, brake when necessary, and alert you to things around you. BBC states, “Automated driving is expected to ease congestion and reduce accidents, though drivers will still be expected to pay full attention to the road, rather than shifting their focus to reading the paper or applying make-up.” So there is a relative answer of how much can actually be done with the new technology. GM’s chief executive, Mary Barra, states “I’m convinced customers will embrace [vehicle-to-vehicle] and automated driving technologies for one simple reason: they are the answer to everyday problems that people want solved.”

This article was a great example of technology advancing for the worse. People replacing a skill that we should all know just to sit in a car and let it drive you on autopilot. Okay well maybe I am exaggerating a bit! I personally do not think that this is a good idea at all. I have driven a car that will break automatically when another car that is in front of your car is going slower. That being said, it doesn’t mean that it is safer in any way. I cannot imagine driving being safer if you are not in control. One thing that makes me hate this product as well is how other cars have to be equipped with the technology to work all the time. A Cadillac CTS Sedan runs for 40 thousand dollars. I do not know a lot of people that can afford a car like that. Not to mention that this price is for the model out this year, not the 2016 model equipped with this “superior” technology. Mercedez Benz already have a self driving car out at the moment, and Google is also working on a self driving car. We will just have to wait and see whether or not the car works as well as GM hopes.

This was found on BBCs technology section to there website.