Nissan shows safety features, electronic steering

And when this system steers you into an accident who is liable?

I can imagine the endless debates with the insurance companies and cops, the system steered the car, not me.

A whole pandoras box of liability issues arises from this technology.

What if the system steers you out of the lane and you veer back in panic as you foresee another potential accident and when veering back another accident is caused. In that case your hand is on the wheel but you're only reacting to the computers initial action.

Lawyers will have a heyday with this.

Dumbing down the motorist even further, from a steering wheel attendant to a a touch panel operator....

Eaxctly Wanderlust. The Japanese car manufacturers seem determined to destroy the driving experience as much as possible by automating everything to the point that a driving test will be meaningless. We will have people in control of cars that can't cope with situations that haven't been programmed. If you can't steer or park a car without assistance - use the bus or buy a smaller one. They are also destroying the driving experience by designing cars to be as ugly as possible. I can't imagine something as awful as a Nissan Leaf coming out of Europe or the US. It's hard to tell which way it's pointing. But I supose the cutesy Harajuku types might think it kawaii.

Can't tell which way a Leaf is pointing? Have you actually seen one? I certainly hope that you don't drive with such bad eyesight, seems that the new technology quoted above is just right for you.

How about all them fools driving around in pitch dark nights, bad weather and they just don't have any clue that their headlights are OFF!!!!?? WTF?? Will Nissan include alarms for all of these idiots that can't be bothered to turn ON their headlights even at night????????

I dislike the dumbing down of driving too. The responsibility for the motion of the car should be 100% and absolutely on on the driver. Tools to alert and so on are fine even good, but once you take the control away it is a slippery slope.

all of you who are saying this destroys the driving spirit must also hate kindles because they take away from the "reading" experience or ipods because they take away from the "listening experience" of records. or even google because they take away from the "research" experience of going to a library. come on! if technology is there to make things/life easier, why not take full advantage of it. or would you just prefer to read your books by a candle?

@rickyvee

So when the automatic system quickly veers left to avoid a potential accident and then runs over a kid on the sidewalk who's going to go to jail for the manslaughter charge, you the driver or Carlos Ghosn?

If an accident were to happen Nissan would no doubt try to escape liability by claiming that since the driver created a "potentially" dangerous situation in the first place that the driver should be responsible.

Lots of real liability issues here.

Keep in mind that any quick and sudden action on an icy road is a recipe for disaster. Does the system tone down it's responsive speed whilst on ice?

These questions need to be addressed or else Nissan drivers are going to spend their days in court fighting ugly legal battles after every accident.

" Toru Hatano, analyst at IHS Automotive, believes that safety technology such as automatic stopping before crashes will become more popular even in cheaper models. "

All this leads to will simply be more dangerous driving.

Initially the idea is to override the driver only if necessary. However the ultimate goal is for a self driving car. A car that drives itself can conceivably be safer, it can be used by people with disabilities and in cities where congestion is disasterous they can speed up journey times and reduce accidents. Love it or hate it its coming.

Responsibility must be left to the driver. Each time you assist people with technology you take back a piece of responsibility. Ther is no freedom without responsibility.

While this system is referred to as "dumbing down" the driver, it is in fact smartening up the driver. Many hot shots who think they are wonderful drivers, actually drive themselves into dangerous situations.......would never happen with these computerized systems that lack ego, and never take their minds off their tasks. Some people have the "Star Trek" delusion; whatever advanced society they ever came across, it was always better to be human.

Swiss Toni:

" However the ultimate goal is for a self driving car. "

The question is if people really want that. Driving oneself is part of the whole car mystique, if you become a passenger, then what is the point of buying your own car? Maybe the industry is going down a self-defeating path here... maybe a good thing.

"Next-generation steering uses electronic signals to control tires."

In what way are the tyres controlled? Are they inflated or deflated or removed from the rims? I think I prefer the situation in my car, a Nissan, where the steering is controlled by me and controls the front wheels. Movement of the tyres is controlled by the movement of the wheels.

gaijintraveller:

" In what way are the tyres controlled? Are they inflated or deflated or removed from the rims? "

No. I think it is pretty obvious that what the article writer is trying to say is simply that the mechanical steering train is replaced by electromotors. Drive-by-wire, if you will. Nothing more exotic than that.

Provide proper driving courses (unlike the once they have in Japan) and let the driver drive the car, not vise reverse. Cars getting all smarter and accidents remain instead of teaching the proper way as it used to be 30 years ago when learning driving with a real car.

WilliB, I don't think there's a loss of freedom with a self driving car, in fact some who can't drive today would be able to get out and about. I would agree about the loss of control, but if you can squeeze more vehicles safely into a limited space, self drivers make sense. I don't suppose cabbies would be too happy if a self driver were available for hire.

Oh! please, don't marketing in US.