Recently I had gone out to look at the latest and greatest and top of the line cars. One of the things that struck me is that the highest end cars have more buttons. One would think that LCD screens and touch display, and with voice-activation would be the mainstream on all models of cars. Sadly, it’s not. That type of technology is saved for the top of the line cars, and only for those that can afford the extra safety features.

With the ever of increasing distractions this technology of lane change notification and lane change prevention technology, adaptive cruise control, auto 911 accident calls, talking GPS, extensive air bags, and so many more features that have yet to be created. One would think that Governments would increasingly change the laws to require all new cars to have these safety features.

When the government regulated mandatory seatbelts, there was great debate over whether or not it would save lives. When they created the airbag, there were Conversation over if it would save lives or hurt or kill people.

The Idea that this technology should be allowed to be a sales feature and not mandated by law to save lives is a something that needs to be dealt with. When we look at the history of seat belts, and air bags and how that got legislated, and the automakers and lobbyists went to town to try to shoot it down, that failed.

With distracted driving having moved past drunk driving due to the number of apps and devices in people’s cars and trucks, it seems to me we need to have more of a glass cockpit.  Fewer buttons will be the wave of the future. Auto Drive or auto assist and auto breaking to prevent crashes would be standard features instead of just for those that can afford them.

Why do we have keys when you can have a proximity auto lock where your key fob has to be in proximity of the car?  Why do we have a wiper and lights buttons or sticks on the columns? Why do we need seat warmer buttons? Why do we need buttons at all when you can have two computer screens in the car. One Touch screen, and one standard LCD screen or maybe a heads up display. Voice activation to enable cooling, heating, radio, wipers, lights, and most other buttons, nobs, and levers and control arms. Is there a need to really have a gear shifter in the cars these days? That can be done by voice activation as well. The emergency break could also have that lever removed. That is one technology that has not been upgraded in most cars.

The Glass cockpit is the future. Insurance Companies should be all for having all these features being mandatory in vehicles, as that would mean they can pay out fewer claims and make money. Safety is the primary reason to take driving control away from drivers. Drunk driving would be eliminated if we had cars with an auto drive.

By making all these advances mandatory we can move people with more efficiency. Currently part of the issue with people driving cars is they make errors in judgments, causing crashes and slowing down road ways.

The biggest issues the government has right now is trying to pass common sense laws that make sense. The lack of common sense being dealt with by all federal governments is why this technology is sold as an add-on item for the rich.

The people must demand things of their law makers and demand they listen or hold them accountable. Demanding that all the safety features are put on all models of cars instead of just the elite make of that model of car or truck. Safety should not be a choice of the rich. It should be a requirement by law.