Should cruise control be outlawed?

Rapid Fire

There are individuals for whom engines should be outlawed.
Look; if one is going to fall asleep at the wheel, they should not be driving in the first place. By your reasoning we should outlaw hills too. What if a driver falls asleep going downhill. And autopilots for aircraft and ships would have to go too.
I drive long distances on the Trans Canada Highway where there is virtually no traffic. If I didn`t have cruise control I`d end up driving at 110-120 mph. I use the cruise control to keep my speed down; not up.

angelzwings20032001

No. I don't think it should be outlawed. Driving responsibly is what we all should do. One of the first things a driver knows is to never get behind the wheel when exhausted. I have pulled over many a night and slept until I knew I was rested enough to safely drive. Long hospital hours and a long drive home do not go well together.

Carl S

Tell that to my dad, who fell asleep at the wheel (without cruise control) and smashed into a tree.

Cruise control is not the necessary evil. If you want to look at every part of a car and find it's potential flaws you'll be here all day. Seat-belt could strangle you, air bag could snap your neck, a trunk lid could fall on you, child-safety locks could trap a kid in a car if the car drives into a river... the list goes on and on.

For the most part cruise allows drivers to comfortably drive long distances. It is up to the driver to determine if He/She is capable of driving drowsy and for that matter a car will coast for many minutes in 5th gear before slowing down to a speed that would not cause bodily harm if the person fell asleep w/out cruise.

So I guess you have to really look at what the product is providing and what the chances of it affecting people with poor decision making and evaluate it's economical worth.

Frankly, I would never own a car without cruise control. I drive 8+ hour trips on a monthly basis.

Louis G

If you fall asleep at the wheel.. you are going to crash. cruise control or not. How about some personal responsibility? IF you are so tired you think you can't drive, DONT DRIVE. if you have to drive, don't use cruise control.

simple enough.

handyclown

some of us still know how to use it

Second Amendment Defender

No, If I did not have it I would be the idiot doing 80 in a 55, with it i will set it at the speed limit.

autochamp

lol.
there are pros/cons of having cruse control...

John

Mmmm,,No.

sgoldperson

How stupid. If you fall asleep with your foot on the gas your foot could end up PUSHING DOWN HARDER. I had a friend pass out from diabetic shock while driving and his car didn't slow down until he hit something. I think by your logic we should ban drivers who don't have passengers, after all the passenger can turn the key to shut off the engine if the driver fell asleep. Perhaps we should put a dead man's switch in the car to cut the engine if the driver doesn't hit is every so often, like a train.

Paul H

the reason cruise control has not been outlawed is because in the mid 80's, manufactures ran testes to see just how safe it was. What they found was that on a long road trip, more drivers fell asleep not using cruise. It caused more fatigue having to keep pressure on the pedal, and in turn caused them to fall to sleep faster. Cruise control was installed and during the same test, not only did drivers not fall asleep, they felt more awake after the same distance.
NOW, it is not fail safe. A coworker of mine just totaled his car 2 weeks ago after falling asleep at the wheel. the driver has to be aware of what is going on. In the end its their responsibility to be the "Safe Driver"

Mike K

you must not drive very far or you dont drive at all. i drive about 200 miles a week and i rely on cruise control. my dad travels about 500 miles a week and uses it all the time. with out cruise you legs would cramp up and prob fall asleep.

thud.fan

Cruise control is kind of a misnomer. What the device does is maintain a constant speed. This is done with the throttle. When going up even a moderate incline, say 4 pct, and the speed drops off, the cruise control will apply full throttle to get back to the preset speed. On a long hill, this cycle repeats itself until the hill levels out. Not very efficient or economic.

To your question, cruise (speed) control is virtually useless in a urban or suburban setting. There is usually too much traffic. Out in the rural areas, yes, cruise control can be very beneficial by allowing the driver to relax the feet a bit. Should it be outlawed? No. It sort of falls in the same nice-to-have category as GPS.

All the best.

carguy0035

get a 4 hour energy shot about 1/2 hour before you drive.

No sleeping problems anymore (well for 4 hours anyways)

UCANTCME

Nope...........if a driver is that sleepy then he or she should not be driving.............cruise control saves gas.

AlexanderCane

i think they should keep cruise control, after all,
cruise control, abs brakes ...etc are for people who can't drive

Note: cruise control is dangerouse during winter,

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