Are We Becoming Addicted to Car Technology?

By Detroit Steel - April 6, 2016

push stop lead

Ever get the sense that we might be relying a little too much on car technology these days, given the danger involved in putting our faith in some of these mechanical devices?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the convenience of Bluetooth as much as the next person. But given some of the scary reports we’ve seen about some tech features recently, it does make you rethink some of the dangers involved.

Take, for example, the story below, initially posted in a Corvette Forum thread by member PDsVettes, which features NBC News highlighting the dangers of the keyless ignition found in some of the later model Corvettes. According to the report, there have been a number of cases where people have mistakenly left a car running after forgetting to press the engine stop button.

In one case, the mistake nearly proved deadly for an infant when carbon dioxide started circulating through the family’s house after the mother forgot to push the engine stop button and left the car running for five hours.

Make no mistakes about it, those little conveniences that technology provides us with are practically taking over every aspect of the driving experience. Be it electronic parking brakes or in-vehicle Wi-Fi connectivity, the C7 is a perfect example of that. And while some might be inclined to write the woman off in the NBC story as an ”idiot,” based on a few comments in the thread, it appears that her mistake is a fairly common trend; according to the report, there have been 21 deaths and 39 non-fatal poisonings from similar cases involving keyless cars.

Because of the issues, some carmakers are considering additional safety measures to alleviate the mistakes.

Car Accident

Then, there’s that other car tech-gone-bad story that broke recently of a woman who was pinned under a Corvette after the automatic starter misfired. Apparently, when the car’s owner clicked the ‘Vette’s automatic starter on his key ring to turn over the engine, it malfunctioned, lunging the vehicle across traffic from a parking garage, and hitting the woman.

A fluke accident? Maybe, but it’s hard to argue the fact that all this trust in technology can become dangerous if we’re not careful – especially when it’s tied to a 400-plus horsepower sports car like a Corvette.