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Comment by StrangeATractor | Hacker News Reader

Fun story, I was in a loaner car from a dealership which had lane assist. I was driving in the desert around a corner against a cliff so I couldn't see around it very well. Right around the corner there was a small boulder in the road which I had to swerve to avoid, except the lane assist fought me on it since it would cross the painted lines. It wasn't like a near death experience or anything, but it really made me think on how the systems meant to protect us can be what causes a life threatening problem if they aren't designed well. If I had to swerve to avoid another rock or a wayward vehicle, compensating for my own vehicle's unexpected response to driver input is at the bottom of the list of things I'd want.

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Even without any obstacles a rented jeep Cherokee felt like it was constantly trying to kill me on mountain roads. The lane assist also turned itself back on every time the car started.

Another baffling feature was that the car refused to move after stopping at stop sign. Turns out there’s a “safety feature” to disable the engine if the seatbelt is not buckled. Thankfully I was just looking for parking and the only consequence was some inconvenienced cars behind me but that could get really bad in the wrong situation.

On my dad's car, the middle back seatbelt has a pretty odd behaviour. It doesn't stretch at all if the car is moving, but it is allowed to contract. This means:

- if the person sitting in the middle has failed to buckle up or at least stretch the belt enough before the car started moving, now they can't do it until the car stops again;

- whenever the person in that place breathes out, they're running the risk of not being able to breathe back in next.

- when the car accelerates, there is a tendency for the person to weigh back into the seat. That causes the belt to contract.

Repeat the 2 latter points enough, and it becomes practically impossible to breathe or even to undo the buckle so you get trapped quite literally dying of asphyxia and in pain from the belt pressing hard against you.

Maybe I’m missing something, but seems like your dad might want to take the car in for service. Malfunctioning safety equipment is a weird thing to let persist like this.

The bit you're missing is that it's working as designed.

What makes you say that?

* The fact that it's been through many full reviews

* The fact that other cars of the same make and model do the same

* The fact that (at least) some other models of the same make do the same

* The fact that apparently I was the only person surprised at it when I mentioned to a few people who have cars of other makes as well

* The fact that it was like this when it was new

Perhaps none of these in isolation mean it's as designed but I reckon taken together they're a very good indication that it is as designed.

I recall seeing a video of a car who managed to drive in a blocked zone and stop on rails, and eventually got hit by a train as it was unable to drive out - arguably because the driver opened the door, and afterwards the car automatically switched to parking or something.

About a year ago, was driving on a mountain road, the lane markets were eroded and the auto-pilot / driver assist thing stopped turning, If I wasn't paying attention it was straight into the barriers at speed.

I just prefer to drive, I actually don't mind driving either.

Had the same experience while driving through Tahoe in a Toyota Camry rental. Immediately turned that "feature" off because the last thing I want is my car fighting me if I have to make a split second decision.

Lane assist is a product of the pervasive "what works in urban San Francisco/other coastal cities is the right solution for everyone" mentality. Unexpected obstacles are far from the worst of its problems on rural roads. Lane assist doesn't give a fig about the fully loaded dump truck coming around the inside of the curve at a relative speed of 100mph within inches of your door, because that situation just doesn't exist in urban environments. (You are supposed to be all over your white line in this case, in case it's not obvious). Conversely, headlight tech which matters much more in rural environments (oncoming headlights are too dazzling on dark roads, and your own headlights are too dim - current legal tech fails both ways simultaneously) is irrelevant in urban environments, so it is literally illegal to improve.

An extreme example of this is the Boeing 737 MAX.

If I recall correctly it was trying to emulate the handling of the 737 so that the pilots didn't need to go thrpugh lengthy training

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