Vehicles set to love us back

By Michael Mwai

What was your first car and how attached were you to it? Did you give it a name or take it for a wash everyday?

The relationship between humans and inanimate objects is an interesting phenomenon that sometimes borders on insanity.

Women, especially single ones, will own little toys, teddy bears and cuddly puppies, and treat them better than their friends. Men, on the other hand, get attached to their gadgets and vehicles.

This situation is just about to get worse as technology now allows vehicles to return the favour, in more ways than one.

When I bought my first car more than 20 years ago, I was as excited as a little boy with his favourite toy. It was a cute Toyota KE30 manufactured in 1978. At that time, its 1,200cc engine was more thrilling than a Thai massage.

I vividly remember every good and bad day, including my first accident: We landed in a ditch after I closed my eyes for just a couple of seconds. Thank God I swerved just in time to avoid the oncoming matatu and a concrete pole to the left.

Terrified at the prospect of fatigue-induced vehicular suicide, I put love aside and decided to invest in a modern vehicle.

Advanced safety features have previously been the preserve of premium vehicles that cost too much for the average Joe. This is changing fast and you now get Antilock Brake System and Electronic Stability Control in most entry-level new cars. Features like automatic cruise control and electronic brake distribution are quickly becoming standard features.

Predictive systems

Modern vehicles are so advanced that they almost do all the thinking for us. Driving has become a real pleasure, thanks to driver assistance offered through numerous sensors.

The good news is that these advanced features are being mass-produced, thus bringing the cost down. The new Volkswagen Golf, for example, comes with radar and video sensors. If you are preoccupied with the stress of life and do not brake in time, the vehicle will do it for you to avoid ramming the vehicle ahead.

Predictive emergency braking is a function that uses radar to determine the distance from the vehicle in front and automatically applies brakes on your behalf. If you do not react, it applies even more pressure, eventually bringing the vehicle to a complete stop.

Such systems are called predictive assistance systems; they continually monitor the environment and send messages to the driver.

When going on a long journey, you can set the adaptive cruise control to any desired speed. The vehicle takes over and automatically brakes when you approach another car. It will even bring the vehicle to a complete stop and start to move automatically as soon as the road clears if it has an automatic transmission. It will then increase speed to the preset pace. All you need to do is steer the vehicle. Now that is what I call true vehicular love.

Your new vehicle will possibly come equipped with a multi-purpose camera that films everything within a range of 120 metres and analyses the flow of images in milliseconds, including road markings. It translates this information and sends you warnings.

Preparing early

For instance, if you are veering from your lane it will send an audible warning, and if you ignore this, it will correct your steering angle. In the new Mercedes S-Class, it even analyses the quality of the road surfaces and adjusts the firmness of the suspension to give you the best ride.

Today’s vehicle recognises roads signs, such as speed limits, and relays this information on the screen. Paired with satellite navigation system, you can even feed in all black spots and prepare to slow down well in advance.

Tomorrow’s vehicles will ‘speak’ to each other. In case of an accident, the car involved will send a message to all other vehicles in both directions on the location of the crash. Another message will be sent to the emergency services. If it is a minor software-based problem, the repair shop will diagnose and fix it via the Internet.

Another feature we need urgently in Kenya, is the low beam feature. Driving at night can be dangerous when drivers refuse to dip their headlights for oncoming traffic. Your modern vehicle will do this automatically and even turn the headlights to illuminate around bends as you negotiate corners.

Now, there is every reason to love our vehicles even more. A car that does all this to keep you safe is no longer inanimate; it is far better than a sulking or silent passenger in the seat next to you.

In a world so fast and so furious, I wish you a cheerfully safe week.