I was dead set against driver assist features until my rental car braked for a deer in rural Ohio

Last fall I was driving through Amish country at dusk and a deer jumped out, but the Honda's collision system hit the brakes before I could even react. That single blink of intervention made me realize I was dismissing safety tech out of stubborn pride, not any real knowledge. Has anyone else had one specific incident flip their whole opinion on something?

3 comments

3 Comments

karen_sanchez4925d ago

Trying to prove I can drive stick shift in a world of Teslas" - that line hit me hard. That's exactly what I was doing, holding onto some weird pride about being a "real driver" who doesn't need all the bells and whistles. But after that deer moment, I started wondering how many close calls I've had that I just chalked up to "good reflexes" when really I was just lucky. It's like we've built this whole identity around doing things the hard way, and admitting a computer can do it better feels like admitting we're not as tough as we thought. I've started letting the car handle more stuff now and honestly, it's kind of nice not having to be on high alert all the time... less stressful driving, you know?

miles_burns26d ago

Oh man, @amy_anderson, you get it. I was the same way with GPS, swearing I'd never rely on it until I got caught in that same kind of situation. I still feel like a tech dinosaur sometimes, like I'm trying to prove I can drive stick shift in a world of Teslas. But honestly, that deer moment was humbling. It's easy to brag about how good your reflexes are until a machine does it faster. Made me wonder how many other 'old school' habits I'm clinging to that are just silly pride.

amy_anderson26d ago

Yeah, it's funny how one moment can make you drop your guard. Kind of like how I used to swear by paper maps until GPS saved me from a blizzard detour.