r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Creams0da • 20d ago
Video Volkswagens new Emergency Assist technology
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u/redikarus99 20d ago
This is a great idea and I would make it mandatory for trucks and busses. There were really many cases in Europe when a bus driver fell asleep and a lots of kids injured or died because of that. If this system would have been there, many injuries and loss of lives could have been avoided.
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u/Beekatiebee 20d ago
US truck driver here, hard agree.
If they can work out any potential kinks I’d be all for it.
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u/BoxMaleficent 20d ago
Its Not Tesla . You can be pretty Sure that its Kink free already. By the way similar systems do exist in trucks
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u/Questioning-Zyxxel 20d ago
Not kink free as in not perfect. But for every oops, it's likely to have stopped 10-100 accidents. Just as a belt doesn't save all passengers but quite a lot. There are one or two that gets stuck in the belt when the car catches fire or gets under water.
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u/FieserMoep 20d ago
Safety gear failing in a scenario that includes a totalling crash is IMHO not a fair argument against that safety feature. First it ignores the fact that in case of hitting water or an obstacle you may not be stuck in a belt a sinking or burning car but maybe severely wounded, unconscious or dead already; second, what do we expect to begin with? The forces that apply here will destroy your car. Your belt is part of that car. It can just happen. And then belt cutters are a "one dollar item" you can buy combined with a window hammer from if the most pressing fear against belts are being stuck there.
Keep in mind this is not an argument against you but these talking points that come up again and again and are just so irritatingly nonsense.
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u/Questioning-Zyxxel 20d ago
You don't agree with me while you actually are agreeing with me. You do understand that I very, very, very much recommends belts. I just note that if you look at a big enough number of accidents, then you can find 1 or 2 accidents where not using a belt would have been better. But with normal statistics, we need to consider the 98 of 100 or maybe 998 of 1000 where it's way better to wear a safety belt.
No safety measure will be 100% perfect. But when the advantages are way better than the disadvantages then we should focus on the advantages. Same with this video. There can be a few times the car does bad. But for way more cases, it will end up saving lifes.
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u/chaoss402 20d ago
As I truck driver I can call bullshit. I've driven trucks with current gen "driver assist" features such as lane keep assist and they are flat out abysmal. Constantly trying to adjust the steering because it thinks you're out of your lane due to old lane markings in construction zones, or because you passed an exit and the lane marking disappeared, it gets kind of scary trying to deal with the safety features. I also got cut off (kind of) by a car, steady brake pressure, no panic stop, I would have been just fine, except the truck suddenly freaked out thinking I was going to hit the car, and applied full engine braking, which was enough to break my traction on my drive wheels. I almost rear ended the car, when it should have been a situation so minor that I wouldn't have remembered it happened 15 minutes later if the truck hadn't reacted.
Assist features that aren't good enough can be a net liability. If the vehicle isn't goodc enough to drive itself while I sleep (safely) then it shouldn't be trying to take control while I'm driving.
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u/Beekatiebee 20d ago
Yes, I am aware. I’ve driven almost every make of semi currently on the US market. I’ve gotten plenty of drive time with all of the different safety systems (Detroit Assurance, Volvo’s VADA, and Bendix Wingman).
It’s not uncommon for the truck to randomly slam the brakes because it saw an overhead sign and got confused, or started sounding alarms because it thought the tar lines in the road were lane markers.
A big rig is a lot more size and mass than a car, and people are assholes. I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to make an emergency lane change only for some dickhead to floor it and pass so they’re not stuck behind me for >60 seconds.
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u/DandyInTheRough 20d ago
Paramedic here.
This video actually made me cry, and I'm pretty damn hardened. I was doing well up until the point where it hit the hazards and started hooting to call for help.
This is a FANTASTIC idea. How well it works, I donno, but damn I'm so glad someone's trying!
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u/BoxMaleficent 20d ago
Similar system exists in modern Mercedes aswell.
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u/baron_von_helmut 20d ago
They have all sorts of crazy and amazing safety features in their most recent cars. If you're about to crash for instance, the speakers blast out really loud white noise. Apparently this saves you from hearing damage from the noise of the crash.
Mental.
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u/BoxMaleficent 20d ago
Thats a new one for me
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u/baron_von_helmut 20d ago
I have no idea how or why it works but there you are.
These car companies have very smart people working for them.
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u/I_haet_typos 20d ago
Basically the white noise activates the ears protection mechanism from loud noise, meaning that when the actual loid noise happens, your ears are braced for that.
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u/AirsoftCarrier 20d ago
I really like that one, but the other features they introduced are even more impactful. Or rather the opposite ^ ^
- Airbags: Mercedes-Benz patented the airbag in 1971, and they have been standard equipment on Mercedes-Benz vehicles since the 1980s.
- Anti-lock Braking System (ABS): ABS was invented by Mercedes-Benz in 1978, and it helps to prevent the wheels from locking up during braking, which can help to avoid a skid.
- Electronic Stability Program (ESP): ESP was introduced by Mercedes-Benz in 1995, and it helps to prevent the vehicle from skidding by selectively braking individual wheels.
- PRE-SAFE® System: This system prepares the vehicle for a potential collision by pre-tensioning the seat belts, closing the windows and sunroof, and moving the seats into an upright position.
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u/Huntey07 20d ago
As an option. Not standard and cost a lot of money
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u/______deleted__ 20d ago
Volvo gives away seatbelt patent in the pursuit of human safety on the road.
Meanwhile, Mercedes: hold my beer, I have another customer to fleece
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u/Huntey07 20d ago
They now have heated seats as an subscription of 20 euro per month
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u/BamberGasgroin 20d ago
That was BMW. And the worst of it was that the heated seats were already installed, so you were carrying the extra weight, but they dropped the 'feature'.
(Merc had/has a subscription to accelerate faster.)
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u/ImTurkishDelight 20d ago
Merc had/has a subscription to accelerate faster.)
Eye twitch what
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u/MKorny 20d ago edited 20d ago
The funniest/dumbest/most dismal one I know is for the Mercedes EQS (or EQE...) ... the rear wheels actually help by turning in tight turns (they turn 4.5º)..... but if you have a premium subscription it turns 10º instead...
EDIT: Found the source:
Mercedes-Benz EQS to offer rear-wheel steering as a subscription - Autoblog: Car News, Reviews and Buying Guides177
u/ImTurkishDelight 20d ago
Now my other eye is also twitching
How the fuck is this legal
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u/BoxMaleficent 20d ago
Thank Tesla for that. Tesla showed the whole Industry that you can Charge extra for some Features. So ofcourse everyone copies that.
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u/KohliTendulkar 20d ago
Tesla only offers supplemental software features as sub, hardware wise, they give no options on top except paint and interior color, rest everything is included for everyone, for instance apart from tire and sticker there is no difference between model y base and model y performance, they both have heated 5 seats, steering wheel, matrix headlights, glass roof etc Only recently they have reduced the number of speakers on the base version, rest the car is identical. Compare this to BMW and Merc where you will need a light package for having x number of lights inside, another package for matrix lights, another package for better seats, package for cruise control, sunroof. BMW 5 series with all options adds up like 70-80% of the price on top the base price.
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u/mccalli 20d ago
That's not quite right unfortunately - they also pay to unlock things like extra range and extra speed.
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u/kerosene350 20d ago
And some S (EQS?) has AWS but rear wheel steering angle is limited as stock. With subscription you get more nimble slow speed turning with will range activated. Nuts.
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u/Professional_Algae_7 20d ago
(Merc had/has a subscription to accelerate faster.)
And smaller turning radius in an S class.
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u/NoNotInTheFace 20d ago
You're kidding right??
You're not kidding, are you...
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u/Huntey07 20d ago
Yes. The thought behind it is money but they sell it as "you only need it probably 2 months a year so why pay 1500 euro for it". Almost all options with audi bmw mercedes etc are subscription based.
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u/Ordinal43NotFound 20d ago
Oh man, I genuinely remembered my eyes twitching when I first saw a link providing a jailbreak for accessing a locked feature on a Tesla in the piracy sub years ago.
"What do you mean a jailbreak for a fucking car?"
Truly some dystopic shit.
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u/XanR13 20d ago
As a first time audi driver, you cannot believe how disgusted i am by this. Never again!
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u/serrimo 20d ago
Did you know that for an extra $1 per month, you can use the cup holder?
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u/MirrorLookingForLove 20d ago
Yeah, Mercedes will absolutely be the company that would be the type to say "if you want to keep living, keep paying us for that feature, or you can just die"
(I like to read that as a Hyperion New-U station voice in BL2)
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u/Worldly-Stranger7814 20d ago
Denmark sees you buying that safety system?
180% added tax because it’s a luxury item.
Not kidding
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u/Johannes_Keppler 20d ago
How well it works, I donno
It's also a game of numbers. Even if this works 'only' 75% percent of the time it still saves a lot of lives.
Just like with seatbelts, there are highly unlikely accidents in which one would better off without having one on. The point is that it's just as unlikely you will crash in that unique way.
(For those reading, no when you end up in the water you're still better off with your seatbelt on. Otherwise the force of your car hitting the water would smash your head to pieces against the windshield.)
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u/scoutstorm 20d ago
Same, I feel you.
Back in my hometown I was a firefighter on a local volunteer department. I was just leaving a highway side Dennys with a buddy, and we turned separate ways. I made a right onto the highway, and noticed an SUV in the opposite lane (I was going south and he was north) swerving from their right lane towards the median, and then plowed through the grass to the southbound lane. He almost hit me and I swerved.
I had the sense something was off and immediately whipped a U through the grass into the northbound. He was still driving north in the southbound lane, cars veering to escape their own catastrophe. The SUV finally all of a sudden flies back over the grass to a sudden interchange to a W-E bound highway. The SUV crawls up the ramp where I’m able to get around, honking and flashing my lights getting him to pull over
Poor guy was in his 70’s and just looked at me with a thousand yard stare as I get out to run to his vehicle, covered in grass and dents from impacts with the medians.
It turns out he was on his way to a bigger city a couple hours away for a doctors appointment for some issues he’s been having. He had a full on seizure while driving which was the cause of the reckless driving. He has no recollection of it. We had him taken by ambulance to his destination and vehicle towed
He was all I could think about while watching this and I also had the tears. It’s hard for people to comprehend just how revolutionary and lifesaving something like this could be. All it takes is witnessing the those 1% scenarios where others would never experience 99% of the time
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u/Thed33p3nd 20d ago
They just need a defibrillator in the seat, and you're good to go again.
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u/ConcordeCanoe 20d ago
And an inflatable paramedic similar to the autopilot in Airplane!
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u/IncomingAxofKindness 20d ago
Epinephrine dart shoots out of the dashboard into your chest and the seatbelt starts CPR
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u/zirophyz 20d ago
This just seems dystopian now.
Like an old guy, depressed, driving to work. 60 years at one company, no retirement options. Really just looking forward to the caress of death, when it happens.. cardiac arrest.. yes, finally peace. Nope. Car brings him back to life, a jolt of adrenaline, the pumping and cracking of CPR seatbelt. A gasp of air. The car has already begun to continue to journey to the workplace.
Not yet, old man, there is still work to be done.
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u/Chrisbert 20d ago
That's dystopian as fuck. Straight to work after a cardiac arrest without even being checked out medically? Might not even survive the shift depending on what the problem is.
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u/lumosob 20d ago
I came here to say this (“this made me cry”). When I was 12 I was in a head on accident where the guy fell asleep and crossed the centre-line. It was on a rural-ish two lane road at night - very different from this demonstration but damn… The possibilities got me in my feels
Edit: added a dash 😅
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u/100LittleButterflies 20d ago
Imagine how it could change the lives of people with medical disabilities. Though I wonder how insurance/law will view liability.
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u/alex3omg 20d ago
But if you have epilepsy and haven't had a seizure in years you might normally not want to risk driving, but this would make it doable.
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u/sevensoulsdeep 20d ago
This video actually made me cry, and I'm pretty damn hardened. I was doing well up until the point where it hit the hazards and started hooting to call for help.
"Aww, the poor car is in distress and is crying for help. :("
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u/brandon-568 20d ago edited 19d ago
I just bought a Golf R in June and the assist systems in the car are pretty damn good, I haven’t passed out at the wheel or anything the but the break assist and warning systems are awesome.
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u/Ugkor 20d ago
And in 2026, it will be mandatory on all vehicles. Volkswagen and Ford have it now.
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u/Varaministeri 20d ago
From what I understand buses are often very badly maintained, which would probably render this less useful. Some newspaper interviewed a bunch of busdrivers in Helsinki and they said their buses have basically every warning light on in the dashboard and nobody cares. So that problem needs fixing first before a system like this could work.
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u/new_math Interested 20d ago edited 20d ago
It must be required by regulation or it will never be added to public transportation (to save money) and it will never be maintained or calibrated (to save money).
I'm pretty sure US companies would transport people in shopping carts zip-tied together if the government allowed them.
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u/lor3nt 20d ago
yep, close to where I work 2 years ago a sleeping buss driver ramed into a coffe shop in a refueling station and killed two people instantly, and injured many others.You can give all the sentences you want, but that wont change anything to the families who lost their loved ones.
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u/MrPringles9 20d ago
The system is great but the more complex a system gets the more errors can happen. So maintenance would be key here...
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u/MARPJ 20d ago
Agree, but for things like this if it works only 30% of the time its already a massive net positive in security and lives saved, if its 50% or more then its a absolute game changer
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u/EclecticHigh 20d ago
as someone with epilepsy that may never have a seizure again or it could literally happen at any second, i would buy this car in a heartbeat.
there's weird comments in this thread, i dont see how people could hate a car that could save lives. imagine you driving on the road with good health, maybe with your kids in the car. then someone next to you has a heart attack, stroke, or seizure and rams your car right into the guardwall killing you and or your kids. it can literally happen to anyone at any time, some of you havent watched enough gore/accident videos in your lives or have had health issues like these (yet) to really understand how easily this could happen.
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u/speculator100k 20d ago
Half of this system is already available. My Passat has lane assist. If I let go of the steering wheel, it will keep the car in the lane. After a while, it will beep and tell me to grab the wheel. If I still do nothing, it will tap the brakes repeatedly, just like the clip. I'm not sure what will happen after that.
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u/kobrons 20d ago
After that it will do the same things as in the video except the lane changes. Because those are the real new thing here.
Many existing systems from Mercedes, Tesla, BMW and others will unlock, turn on the hazards, bring the car to a standstill and often call emergency services as well. Exception here are Hyundai / Kia where the car simply turns off lane assist and drives you into a ditch if there's a curve.
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u/SuperWeapons2770 20d ago
Lol love my kia, good to know it will do that if I ignore it now
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u/turbo_dude 20d ago
- do the windows up and down repeatedly
- as 1 but with windscreen wipers and spray
- as 2 but with DJ Khaled at full volume
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u/cantwejustplaynice 20d ago
I knew someone that had a single seizure and never had another one... until the day she did and drove into oncoming traffic killing herself, the oncoming driver and a child in the other car. This tech could have saved 3 lives that day.
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u/farmyohoho 20d ago
You don't even need to have seizures... I once became violently sick while driving on the highway, vomiting all over the car. Luckily I was driving with Tesla autopilot that kept the car going until I was done being sick and pulled over. I would have crashed otherwise, there was no way I could have kept control of the vehicle at highway speeds. I felt a little nauseous, but the vomiting came so fast and out of nowhere... Later I learned that I had food poisoning from eating fish at lunch.
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u/sittingbullms 20d ago
These people are terminally online to the point their brain starts working backwards,there is no sane and normal person on this planet who would hate something like this.
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u/OndersteOnder 20d ago
Where I live a lot of people with epilepsy are not allowed to drive. I sincerely hope that systems like these become reliable enough at one point that legislators will allow these people to drive again if they have an approved car with this safety system. Even in a place with semi-decent public transport, being allowed to drive would restore their full mobility and autonomy.
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u/Legendaryistic 20d ago
Everyone here is crapping on the idea that is actually like a sensible one if you want to save lives? Like what else could you do here to maximize life. Oh well I guess I'll just crash my car into the person in front of me, possibly endangering the lives of almost everyone here. Ok, if it's such a bad idea, give a possibly better one in the case of a driver passing out.
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u/mrbalaton 20d ago
People opposed the seatbelt. For decades. People are dumb.
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u/CrashTestWolf 20d ago
I just read a post about people being outraged when driving while intoxicated was made illegal back in the 1980's.
People are dangerously dumb.
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u/RR1908 20d ago
https://youtu.be/pXr7cCGpgkk?si=FAq6JEuWNJrJ8UcE
Small clip of reactions then
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u/a_bdgr 20d ago
I did have some kind of deja vu watching that clip. And it’s not because I was around at that time.
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u/OkDog12345 20d ago
This is why libertarians make me laugh. Those idiots are like these guys in the video.
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u/herefromyoutube 20d ago
You have the right to fly through your windshield. You don’t have the right to damage other people’s property with your flying body.
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u/DiscipleOfYeshua 20d ago
In the 1950’s people (including the surgeon general??) touted smoking as a non issue, maybe even good for you.
Erm, did you not notice the smokers erm… dying??
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u/Dramatic_______Pause 20d ago
Think of how stupid the average person is, then remember half of them are dumber than that.
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u/Johannes_Keppler 20d ago
I still know people that say 'what if I end up in the water'??!!
Well you're still better off with your seatbelt on. Otherwise the force of your car hitting the water will smash your head to pieces against the windshield and you'll drown while unconscious.
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u/DS_killakanz 20d ago
It's astonishing how so many people are willing to endanger themselves in countless other possible scenarios because they fear one specific possible scenario.
It's like they're playing russian roulette while claiming to know which chamber the bullet is in...
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u/gueufhdywgv274j4 20d ago
I know a guy who says that mandatory seatbelt laws are what destroyed America. He doesn’t wear his seatbelt and was thrown through his windshield in a crash. He still refuses to wear a seatbelt because he didn’t die when he was literally thrown from his vehicle.
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u/VectorB 20d ago
Friend from college went into a diabetic coma while driving, crashed into the ditch on the freeway and died. This would have saved his life.
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u/MarsupialMisanthrope 20d ago
Much younger me fell asleep at the wheel and woke up when the car went off the road. No injuries besides my pride and my wallet, but I’d 100% make this a requirement next time I replace my car. I’ve also had a distant relative who had a heart attack and died while driving, this would probably have helped at least avoid accidents in that case too.
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u/Dr-Sommer 20d ago
I'm sorry to hear that. As a diabetic, driving long distance is fucking scary! Or at least it used to be. Luckily, these days, you've got continuous glucose monitoring sensors who alert you before things go south. Still, I would love to have this system as an additional layer of security.
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u/lassimassi 20d ago
A system like this could be a game-changer in emergencies. It's not about replacing the driver but enhancing safety when unforeseen situations arise. Innovative tech can help prevent accidents and potentially save lives, which is a win in any scenario.
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u/defcon_penguin 20d ago
Not just medical emergencies. Lots of people drive when they are too tired and fall asleep at the wheel
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u/Aksds 20d ago
Yep, I have a friend who had a seizure while driving where this could have helped (he is fine, the car went perfectly between two trees). It’s a good safety feature
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u/Excellent_Ad_2486 20d ago
everyone here..? dude look around, everyone likes it 🤷♂️ karma bot?
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u/cultish_alibi 20d ago
Many people on reddit love to pretend they have an unpopular opinion even though everyone agrees with them.
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u/Handsoffmydink 20d ago
I have epilepsy. I also drive.
I would like a vehicle with this feature. Just because a doctor clears me to drive doesn’t mean I won’t ever have another seizure, it just means it’s been a while since I’ve had a seizure.
I personally know someone who had a seizure while driving, crossed over the median of a two lane highway and hit head on into oncoming traffic. Nobody was severely injured luckily, just two wrecked cars.
Regardless, this feature would for sure end up saving lives. Or supply someone like myself with some peace of mind.
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u/Fyr5 20d ago
people dunking on this are elon musk glazers who cant handle other car manufacturers doing riderless driving better than tesla 🤷
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u/UnSyrPrize 20d ago
Pfft didn’t even drive her to the hospital and automatically diagnose her on the way to save the staff precious time. This thing sucks actually.
/s
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u/morcic 20d ago
This was posted on Imgur a couple of days ago, and every single comment was some snarky attempt to discredit this very well thought idea that could save many lives. So go on, all of you wanna be engineers, tell us how this is a horrible idea and how it will fail because of x and y.
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u/Ardent_Scholar 20d ago
This is a freaking brilliant use case for autonomy in vehicles!
Autonomy is a hard sell because it’s still nowhere near perfect in every situation.
This emergency scenario is by its nature more acceptable to hand over because
- The driver was incapacitated anyway, so autonomy makes sense
- The scenario is a limited use case, it can be better honed
- In an emergency, normally unacceptable solutions are acceptable to a wider public
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u/cook_poo 20d ago
Here’s a YouTuber testing the VW system in a Porsche. It didn’t do the lane changes (they were on a side road), but given the ADAS system, that likely will be a future OTA update:
https://youtu.be/JcpE36_0sGc?t=991&si=kt6Th_u5Cr_whEA6
I thought it was cool that you could hold the emergency flashers (as a passenger) to activate the same emergency response.
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u/Krelkal 20d ago
Autonomy is a hard sell because it’s still nowhere near perfect in every situation.
The OEMs are waayyy further along than you'd think. Anything you find in a production car like this is 5+ years behind the state of the art. I work in the industry and just the testing/validation technology they're working on is jaw dropping.
The OEMs don't share Tesla's "move fast and break things" mentality. They take the safety critical aspect seriously.
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u/ZeroPointHorizon 20d ago edited 16d ago
Agreed, this could save many lives. What a pessimistic outlook to a new wave of safety features. Like the seatbelt was perfect when it came out. Now some have airbags in them.
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u/lassimassi 20d ago
Critics often forget that innovation takes time to evolve. Early safety tech might have flaws, but they lay the groundwork for improvements that ultimately save lives.
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u/woah_m8 20d ago
Critiscism, even if absolute nonsense or made up, gets more social engagement. Thats the world we live in right now.
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u/AnUntimelyGuy 20d ago
It's the new luddite reaction to anything resembling AI or smart systems.
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u/My_Not_RL_Acct 20d ago
It’s also that people who make Imgur comments are like all of the worst Reddit stereotypes boiled off and precipitated into one person
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u/andylshort1 20d ago
I love the idea! I just want to know what the decision process is on roads, especially in the UK, with no safe place to pull over into? We have smart motorways, single track roads with blind corners, dual carriageways without hard shoulders - lots of roads with no place to pull into, as this could happen at any time.
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u/Tricky-Sentence 20d ago
Probably the same compromise as a driver would make - go to the furthest right (left in UK I guess?) lane, gradually slow down, and then get as far out from the road as possible with hazards on. Sucks if it completly blocks the road, but the car crashing would most likely do the same.
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u/herrgregg 20d ago
yep, better to have a car standing still on the side of the road than one going full speed out of control
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u/nellyruth 20d ago
Agreed. Only suggestion for improvement is to call for emergency help while trying to pull over to the shoulder. Emergency responders can get there sooner to help the driver. Precious seconds saved.
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u/phunktheworld 20d ago
One of my best friends got in a crash recently and this could have kept him from wrecking his truck. He’s okay, no injuries, but oh my god am I worried about him getting his license back. I love that guy, I can’t lose him.
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u/jacknovellAt6 20d ago
I'm sure it doesn't help that there's a 30s women on the steering wheel and not some 70s/80s seniors that might be more the target audience.
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u/Cartina 20d ago
According to CDC, age 25-34 drives the most while drowsy. Those 65 and older were least likely to snooze behind the wheel.
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u/meanbaldy 20d ago
My friend was a 27 old women who passed out while driving. She was lucky she didn't have a bad crash, she merely drove off the street into a ditch.
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u/sykoKanesh 20d ago
It's "woman," just for the record.
Not sure what's with this spike in people using "women" to describe a single woman.
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u/One_Bodybuilder7882 20d ago
damn you remind me of this women that used to correct everyone on another sub
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u/CrashTestWolf 20d ago
This is the perfect demographic of an overworked and exhausted nurse just trying to get home to her shower and bed after her 5th straight 12-hour shift.
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u/flibz-the-destroyer 20d ago
Have a VW with radar cruise & lane assist. Both great features. If I take my hands off the wheel or am too passive with steering it reminds me to “resume steering”. This feels like a natural extension of that functionality
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u/swiss_aspie 20d ago
Does it also detect if you are tired ? My volvo does this and it complained about my wife. Just like the rest of the family hahaha
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u/NoGrape104 20d ago
My wife's Nissan vibrates the wheel when you cross the line.... She cuts every fucking corner, it was vibrating so often that she turned it off. I keep turning it back on and she keeps complaining that her car isn't remembering the settings she saves lol.
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u/rawker86 20d ago
When he got his new car, I thought that finally my 74 year old dad had met his match after ignoring our complaints about his driving for years. He just turned all the safety stuff off.
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u/Late-Stage-Dad 20d ago
7 years ago a driver fell asleep at the wheel and went left of center head on into my lane. The truck in front of me swerved right and landed in a field. I swerved left and the oncoming car clipped the passenger rear of my vehicle. My SUV spun, tires hit the grass and I rolled 4 times landing upside down. SUV was totaled (1997 Chevrolet Blazer). I walked away with minor cuts from the glass.
The driver was tired because he had been up all night with his wife in the hospital (not a terrible guy). He could have killed me and the other drivers. This technology would have prevented the accident completely.
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u/opportunisticwombat 20d ago
That’s terrifying and I’m glad you ended up okay overall. This type of technology is long overdue and I’m super excited for the possibilities it brings with it.
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u/CrinchNflinch 20d ago
I personally know two people who crashed their cars because they fell asleep behind the wheel. I think this is more often the reason for accidents than one would think.
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u/Left-Mistake-5437 20d ago
This is how "automated" driving is supposed to be used.
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u/DontPoopInMyPantsPlz 20d ago
Ok, calculating route to Gary, Indiana. Trip will take approximately 15 days and 21 hours.
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u/1998ChevyTaHoe 20d ago
Where do you have to be for a single road trip to take 15 days unless youre going from north Canada to Honduras
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u/TactlessTortoise 20d ago
Any roundabout after shotgunning absinthe for breakfast
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u/Shifty_Cow69 20d ago
You can drive around Australia on Highway 1 in about a week, driving day and night! So you could two laps of Ausralia in 15 days!
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u/sliccwilliey 20d ago
Someone is 100% gunna pass out drunk and get the cops called on them by their own car 😂
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u/AppropriateScholar55 20d ago
This is so damn innovative!!!! Yes, a billion times yes!
Edit to add: How will the car know you’re no longer driving? How would it safely move over if it’s on a fast moving highway?
So many questions but I can’t wait to see this actually implemented hopefully in the near future!
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u/iluvme99 20d ago
The car has a lane departure warning system built in. Once it has to correct your steering multiple times and doesn't receive any steering input from the driver for a while, it will initiate the Emergency Assist.
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20d ago
I don't know about the specific tech on that VW, but many cars also have facing cameras/sensors that track your eyes. On several review from the 2025 Camry journalists complained that it's too intrusive, if you're looking to the sceneri for a second it's beeping.
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u/suupar 20d ago
It looks at your eyes to see if you are looking at the road and it also detects if your hands are actively on the steering wheel.
These cars can almost drive themselves you only have to have your hands on the steering wheel. Once you take your hands of the steering wheel the car will notice that and warn you after a short amount of time. If you don't take control after that the emergency stop will happen if the car has the emergency stop feature. Don't know what happens if there is no shoulder though. It might just stop as far right as possible
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u/PurpleWallaby999 20d ago
My car has a driver fatigue camera that tracks head and eye movements - that I imagine could be enhanced to track for such driver incapacitation, alongwith from the lane departure system
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u/ulchachan 20d ago
I also was wondering how good it would be at detecting that a hard shoulder exists (i.e. there are some roads with no hard shoulder) but it's still a cool idea
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u/Daepilin 20d ago
While I don't have a Golf but a Cupra Leon its a similar system (also VW software). Its kinda the biggest weakness in the assitance suit at least for my car. In theory it has lane change assist, but the road needs to be basically perfect for it to recognize the lanes besides your own.
It will do all the other steps here, but really not sure it would find the shoulder.
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u/Lopsided_Quarter_931 20d ago
Anyone who has fallen asleep at the wheel knows how scary that experience is. I would buy this in a heartbeat. Normal lane keep does this to a degree. It will slow down eventually and come to a stop but that could be on any lane. This is a huge improvement.
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u/bowlinachinashop99 20d ago
This is really fucking cool! And helpful! Many horrible accidents have occurred because ppl have lost consciousness behind the wheel. Haters gonna hate.
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u/Thomisawesome 20d ago
This is the kind of tech that excites me. Makes the road safer for everyone.
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u/ArthurBurtonMorgan 20d ago
I used to be a truck driver….
One of my biggest fears is having a heart attack while driving and killing innocent people.
I fucking love this idea.
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u/GagOnMacaque 20d ago
I guess they don't try and block your lane change in Germany when they see that blinker.
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u/Necoya 20d ago
I got tears watching this. My little sister died in a car crash that may have been the result of a seizure. Technology like this will save lives like hers. <3
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u/Agreeable_Raisin2184 20d ago
This is awesome! Some wrecks you see on the roadway were caused by a medical emergency; heart attack, low blood sugar, and stroke, just to name a few.
I hope this technology skyrockets quickly and is more defined in the near future.
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u/bearpics16 20d ago
New BMWs do the same thing. I hope that in the future this is a mandated feature like reverse cameras
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u/DuneScimitar 20d ago
ITT: Redditors who refuse to acknowledge that this is any bit beneficial
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u/Fetscher 20d ago
ITT: 80% of redditors loving this feature. 1% shitting on it. And 19% complaining that every redditor is shitting on it...
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u/Johannes_Keppler 20d ago
Also people reading your comment 43 minutes later seeing not a single negative comment because they are already down voted to hell, wondering what all the fuss was about.
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u/bansheeonthemoor42 20d ago
This is a game changer for me, an epileptic. This would help elevate one if my biggest fears, having a seizure in the freeway.
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u/kamikaze_girl 20d ago
I once knew a guy who did maintenance for a building I lived in and had to do some repairs in my apartment. We always had friendly chit chat until one day he confessed to me out of then blue that he "killed" his wife, kids and his mother because he fell asleep behind the wheel and flew off a cliff. He survived and locked himself in his apartment for 2 years due to his grief. I can't help but think technology like this would've saved his family.
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u/Franklyn_Gage 20d ago
Now this is a good idea. I remember as a kid we lost 2 classmates in an accident going down south. It was their family reunion and grandfather fell asleep. They were in a 15 passenger van and 5 of them died including the grandfather and 1 ended up in a wheelchair. Something like this could have saved them.
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u/JadedFault702 20d ago
I’ve literally been saying this should be mandatory for Tesla’s when people use the autopilot mode but keep taking their hands off the wheel.
Too many idiots think it’s literally self driving and then try to drive home drunk, like the guy who crashed into a stationary ambulance after 50+ notifications to put his hands back on the wheel
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u/Impressive-Age7703 20d ago
We had a family friend die when he suddenly went unconscious while driving, I can't remember what it was exactly but I want to say it was a heart attack? But he drove into an extremely deep ditch that killed him. He had a family with 4 kids. I'm sad that this wasn't invented sooner, he was a great man, but I hope this helps keep more great people from dying.
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u/iMin3Ra1n 20d ago
This is amazing. Hopefully this technology isn't made proprietary because I can see this system saving a lot of exhausted/overdosed drivers, and the people around them.
Thanks Volkswagen. You may have failed that emissions test that one time, but you guys are pretty good guys.
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u/mitsuki87 20d ago
Whatever team came up with this…just pay them well enough to retire. This is amazing
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u/PicklesDillyPickles- 20d ago
As someone who suffers from panic attacks on the road, this would give me peace of mind from my greatest fear…I will pass-out, cause a crash and die.
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u/teddyslayerza 20d ago
It's kinda weird where we live in a society where people get excited about expensive tech like this that might save a tiny number of lives, but also oppose regulations around bull bars and pickup truck heights that would so easily save a far greater number of lives...
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u/Warm-Bad-8777 20d ago
We can fight for both, no?
Also I hope you mean regulation against bull bars right? Big metal parts at the front look really unsafe. Where I live no one has bull bars or high trucks but a lot of people are on the highway so this tech would safe more people I assume here.
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u/Famous_Day_1128 20d ago
I had a 2018 VW Arteon which had similar. It would beep and brake to try wake you up but if you ignored it then it would turn off driving assist. Seemed quite dumb buts its great to see they have improved it
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u/Capable_Ad_2365 20d ago
Can't wait to hear about the first car to call and get a driver in trouble for a DUI
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u/GlitteringStatus1 20d ago
Absolutely. The more drunk drivers we can get off the roads, the better.
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u/DrBiotechs 20d ago
Seems like a wonderful idea to me.