this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
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My car isn’t driverless, but I as the driver have less control than ever before.
It’s an EV, and it will not shift to drive or reverse if the charging cable is attached.
Great for preventing me from destroying a charger. Terrible for getting away from someone trying to mug me.
Far too much of the safety features these days assume an environment in which all harm is accidental. This comes at the cost of safety in environments where someone is trying to harm another person.
This is the seatbelt argument all over again. The safety features protect people in the majority of scenarios. While there may be scenarios where it does more harm than good, they are rare. You’re much safer with the safety feature.
I don't think there is a car where the seat belt is tied to anything besides a little notification beep. Seems like a different situation if the "safety" feature dictates how the car is used.
Seatbelts are legally mandated. When that was going through, some people argued against that requirement on the grounds that there edge cases where it dies more harm than good.
Just like the case here, those edge cases are vanishingly rare.
Note: my car won’t move without a seatbelt, but it’s an EV so furthers the argument that EVs are taking control from the driver.
Fair point then about the arguement around safety. For me the bigger issue is control. Cars with kill switches and conditions to use is a slippery slope. Just look at what's happened with software and media. Don't want to have to pirate my car or load custom firmware so I can use it as I want.
You don't complain about having to open your door or start the engine when escaping a threat.
Having to unplug a cable during a very specific, imagined threat seems like a niche problem.
Additionally: if you're at a gas station filling an ICE vehicle and you get mugged, and you panic and peel out, there's gas going everywhere, plenty of potential ignition sources etc.
The argument "I have more control and agency therefore I am quantifiably safer" can fuck alllllll the way off. Safety regulations are written in blood.