Vauxhall launches virtual backseat driver

bah

last thing we need is driving made easier for those who cant be bothered to keep a lookout anyway. Give this to all drivers with no insurance claims for things their fault in the last 10 years and then we're talking!

meh

Last thing we need is a reason to buy a Vauxhall.

What's that? There still isn't one?

I like the way the article's about a Vauxhall, and then the hack says "Talking of road noise..." Yeah, very good that one. Made me laugh. :)

Wide Angle?

Doesn't look very wide to me from their diagrams. Looks rather more like it's mildly telephoto to me.

Not very useful...

...unless you can also use it to take pictures of the car in front

with someone behind the wheel who's driving like a twat.

Especially if you could immediately post it on YouTube.

Motorway driving made easy.

Should be fun for people driving down the motorway having a backseat driver telling you that you are swerving out of your lane, or having it shout because you have to swerve to miss something on the side of the road.

Hmm

So, drivers have to look at the dashboard to find out information that they would have noticed had they been paying attention to the road in the first place?

Vicious circle anyone?

Steven R

Lane markings? Which are the lane markings?

Most of the roads in the UK look like some crazy with a pitch-liner has been dancing a foxtrot on them.

Home made signs?

Whats to stop people putting up home made signs to get people to slow down outside their house?

People paying attention would know the difference but I bet many people will just stick to fake speed limit - The 'Computer says no' mentality...

Great idea!

So long as it has an "OFF" switch.

FFS Do they think we drive with our eyes shut, hmm then again White Van Man was doing it this morning.

Already fitted!

I have a car with a similar device already. It's called a windscreen! I can look out of this transparent glazed portal, and not only see pertinant roadsigns and markings, but also other road users!

I find it invaluble, along with the dial that allows me to avoid speeding tickets, just make sure the number it points at is the same or below the one on the sign, and you'll never get done! :)

@Solomon Grundy

--Does this mean that the thing will be warning me every time I change lanes as I am weaving in and out of D.C. traffic?--

Probably not if you are indicating ;-)

Having said that, I agree this is a daft idea. If it doesn't fly, I don't care!

If you think "oh, that's a good idea"

Please hand in your driving license forthwith.

Thank you.

Positive?

So nobody has anything good to say about this, then?

No,didn't think so.

Philip Cheeseman

why not just stick your home made sign over the real one? It's only one black number on a white background that you need to change anyway.

No, no and thrice NO!

We have enough brainless drivers as it is, let's not give them an excuse to use even less of their brains.

Though a similar system for BMW, Merc, Lexus and Volvo drivers would be good. When the car detects they've changed lanes or made a turn without indicating, an arm should come out of the dashboard and beat the driver into a bloody pulp.

Signs

Is it able to read signs obscured by trees etc.? The number of times I've had to crane my neck round to see that yes, I did miss my turning or no, I haven't been sufficiently alerted as to potential danger from deer.

@ Mike Moyle

I think these graphics are taken from documentation for OPEL (GM's European brand for Vauxhall, its Holden in Oz) so that might explain the camera angle.

@ Dave yep probably will happen, think a better system would be one that takes over, drives them into the nearset car park when they start to drive like a dick and disables the engine which can only be re-enabled by your friendly Vauxhall for a couple of grand, that'll stop 'em

Stick it on all cars driving past my house!

If it stops people driving past my house (30mph zone) at 70 to 100 mph then I want it installed in all cars. Either that or I want to have a speed hump, directly in front of my house ... one about 100 feet high will do me.

Will stop them thoughtless and witless pillocks from doing stupid speeds past my house ...

A great opening here ...

for a small factory somewhere making stick-on speed limit signs!

Mine's the one with a 20mph sticker on the back ...

Adaptive sound control

I recall years back there was a show called "Beyond 2000" and they had a segment about the original work done by Lotus engineering The woman presenting the segment was driving around on a country lane in the smallest, meanest little econobox I had seen in a long time. It had the Lotus testbed car and it had a high-powered amplifier, microphones, speakers, and a few sensors to pick up throttle position and engine RPM.

She twisted a knob on a little box under the dash and switched the system from "Normal" to "Porsche" to "Ferrari" to "Mustang" and magically, the auditory experience within this little s**tbox of a car became that of the high-dollar, high performance automobile the knob selected. It was an instant "I WANT IT!" experience.

It was also hilarious seeing the car from the outside as the sound from the inside of the car was heard on the soundtrack.

Chris F

Just the thing for Mr Magoo...

I get my coat because I'm taking the tube home.

@Andraž Levstik

"Yes I am a driver, I have been one for 3 years...and yes I would find such a tool helpful..."

Seriously? You need help in spotting and responding to large, (mostly) obvious signs? And you think that you should still be driving a 1 tonne lump of metal (and glass and plastic) around? Seriously?