‘In this new car, I feel patronised’: which driver assistance systems actually improve safety?

<p>Modern cars are fitted with features like autonomous emergency braking and fatigue monitoring. But do they support motorists or drive them to distraction?</p><p>This new car I’m test-driving boasts all the latest bells and whistles – or, rather, beeps and bings. Peer sideways for too long checking traffic and the car emits an irritating sound. Should I take a hand off the wheel to scratch an ear, I’m admonished with a strident beep.</p><p>When the car determines it’s too near a white line, it tugs the wheel against my hands and brakes as a car slows ahead. Its haptic “buttons” feel like fingers pressing back – as if an invisible presence has its hands and feet on the controls: a ghost in the machine I’m inside.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/sep/16/smart-cars-autonomous-braking-which-driver-assistance-systems-actually-improve-safety">Continue reading...</a>