We live in an oxymoronic age. We are presented with such impossibilities as a he that insists he’s a “she.” Told that we aren’t being forced to pay a tax; we are being “asked” to make a “contribution.”
Here’s the latest in this line: “Supervised Hands-Off Driving.”
Try to parse that one. Try not to reach for a hammer to smash something. What is meant by “supervised hands-off driving”? Just what it sounds like. The car is said to be capable of driving itself but it requires the supervision of a driver. Put down that hammer! It will do no good to smash the keyboard or the monitor, just as it did Elvis no good to shoot out the TV when Robert Goulet appeared.
A vehicle is either self-driving or it is has a driver. Put another way, if a self-driving car requires a driver to supervise its “self-driving” then it is not actually a “self-driving car,” is it? Of course, that is not the truth that is told to people. They are told a lie – that the car has “self driving” capability, which is attractive to people who dislike driving or like the idea of not having to drive all the time. As for example on a long-boring road trip. Or after a long, hard day at work. How nice it would be to be able to ease the seat back and take a nap while the car drives you home. If the car can actually do that – safely, without “supervision” – then, wow!
Of course, it can’t. Not safely, at least. There is a good chance the car will encounter something its programming wasn’t programmed for or systems can’t deal with safely – or it just glitches – and the car drives itself into a tree or (worse) into some poor soul who happened to be in its way. The driver awakens from his nap to find his car has killed someone. Or maybe he doesn’t wake up at all.
Hence “supervised” not-really-self-driving. The driver is legally expected to be just that, even if he isn’t actually driving at the moment. He can take his hands off the wheel and inevitably will take his eyes off the road and may even close his eyes – just for a moment! But he must be ready to intervene at all times. In other words, it’s his responsibility to be ready to steer or brake if the “self-driving” car doesn’t steer or brake when circumstances require – so as to avoid crashing into something.
It places the driver in a damned-if-you-do/damned if you don’t situation – and the peddlers of so-called “self-driving” systems god-damned well know it, too. They want the person who buys a car with “self-driving” capability (sic) to believe the car can drive itself and – wink, wink – they know perfectly well the driver is going to let the car do just exactly that and without “supervision.” It is like a malevolent iteration of the catalytic converter “test pipe” that some will recall were once available at auto parts stores back in the ’70s and into the ’80s. The marketing schtick was that the “test pipe” was to be installed temporarily in place of the catalytic converter, in order to “test” the converter. It was understood by everyone the “test pipe” was for replacing the converter, which got tossed in the trash.
The EPA put the kibosh on that. But no such kibosh is applied to this “self-driving” bag of bullshit. Why? Probably because the federal government wants to take the driver out of the equation. The vehicle manufacturers are in on this, too. There is no other sensible explanation for the fact that the latter have made “driver assistance technology” – such as automated braking and automated countersteeering – standard in every new vehicle. It is unavoidable, if you want to buy a new vehicle – irrespective of make/model. This is interesting because most people dislike and do not want this “assistance” and wouldn’t pay extra for it if it were available optionally. In other words, the vehicle manufacturers are (effectively) forcing new-vehicle buyers to buy this “assistance” many (probably most) do not want. 
Think about that a minute. It is like Starbucks putting anchovies in the coffee it serves. Of course, it’s easy to just drive-by Starbucks. It is harder to not drive. Many people need a car and want a new one – but they end up getting (and paying extra for) “assistance” they do not want.
The “assistance” tech is basically a more primitive iteration of “self-driving” tech – but both encourage passive driving. The driver is implicitly encouraged to rely on the tech but also continues to be told he’s responsible for controlling the car.
It’s oxymoronic – and it’s dangerous. That’s especially interesting given that “safety” is allegedly the highest priority. It obviously isn’t. If it were, drivers would be expected to drive their cars and be responsible for their driving – as opposed to “supervising” a “self-driving” car while they nod off for a behind-the-wheel catnap.
. . .
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“… the joust of driving in traffic ”
That’s exactly how I feel when I throw a leg over for my Mad Max / Roger Corman Death Race 2025 ride every morning.
Beautiful turn of phrase. I will adopt that one for my own use.
“after a long, hard day at work. How nice it would be to be able to ease the seat back and take a nap while the car drives you home?”
Honestly, the drive to and from the office is one of the highlights of my day. It’s different in a classic with a 4-speed though. In fact, I’m getting ready to leave now. Feeling giddy.
Amen, Philo-
I used to enjoy the joust of driving in traffic back when I worked in DC. It honed my skills.
I’m all for it if it’ll improve the safety record of Indian truck drivers.
At least they asked for permission to test these things on the roads……..Oh wait, they didn’t…..
I can’t think of anything else that the government would “allow” to test in public without their “permission”. Someone cutting hair has to do more to get allowed to make a living than Waymo or Apple or Google does with their glitchy toys on the roads.
Letter sent today to auto parts manufacturer Detroit Axle:
Mr Mike Musheinesh, CEO
Detroit Axle
2000 W 8 Mile Rd
Ferndale MI 48220
Re: Axle of Dearborn, Inc vs Department of Commerce
Dear Mr Musheinesh:
This is just a note to thank you for pursuing your case challenging executive orders eliminating the de minimis exception for duty-free entry of goods valued under $800.
As an individual, I have been inconvenienced by these executive orders. Vendors I have dealt with for years have suspended shipments to the US. I appreciate your undertaking the burden of litigation which potentially will benefit millions of Americans.
Your attorneys have pointed out that Section 70531(b) of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act repeals the de minimis exception effective July 1, 2027. Evidently, Congress intended to allow a two-year transition period for businesses and US Customs to adjust to the repeal. President Trump’s subsequent EO 14324 of August 29, 2025, by globally suspending the de minimis exception, defies the clear intent of Congress and creates chaos for businesses.
I wish you every excess in your current effort to lift the stay on your case, independently of the Supreme Court’s decision in V.O.S. Selections vs U.S. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for seeking to enforce the statutes enacted by Congress.
————
Mike Musheinesh is a 44-year-old Palestinian who was born in a Syrian refugee camp and moved to the U.S. in 1987.
https://tinyurl.com/4a62a6x5
Good stuff, Jim –
If only the (mostly) good people of this country could organize to overthrow the creatures who ride us like the parasites they are. I would gladly lend any and all power in my possession toward that end and try to do just that every day.
Part of the problem in organizing is people who want a check or other benefits will fight for their scraps. Most people here, and elsewhere, just want to be left alone. That’s not a great basis for revolution. It worked at one time but, now it seems to be a far greater challenge since so many are being bestowed largesse from GovCo.
“Hello darkness my ol friend”
Why? Probably because the federal government wants to take the driver out of the equation. The vehicle manufacturers are in on this, too.
They might want to take out the driver, but they’re not willing to take on the responsibility. This is the root of why they’re being weaselly about the terminology. Oh, we built this really cool thing… but if it screws up, that’s on you. Your first mistake is trusting us! Waymo is saying their cars have driven millions of miles with far fewer accidents than human drivers. That’s great so why aren’t they everywhere? Why aren’t they available for intercity and interstate travel? Is it possible that they only perform well in “Goldilocks” situations and cities? That they cannot react quickly enough for high speed travel?
https://waymo.com/blog/2024/12/new-swiss-re-study-waymo
Autopilots are for us aspies to obsess over and twidget to operational stability till theyre safe enough for all you terrified normies to trust. That takes over three times longer than consumer normans attention span and 10 times its pathetic patience.
I know this because I was one of those, Ive retired. Such work doesnt lend itself to robotic automation. God help us all.
The problem with Silicon Valley, with the programming industry, is sheer arrogance. Smart kids who think they are superior to their fellow man, nay, they think themselves god’s. And they are justified by the excessive money the whole industry has been paid. They believe that they are literally practicing magic. They’ve never learned the lesson that computers are not thinking machines, they are just fantastically complex, insanely error prone machines. Trusting anything that really matters, like your life and family, to a machine is counter survival.
Self driving in the same way a kid with a learner’s permit is
I’m now picturing a car that goes into uber glitch mode….turning on Sirius at max volume because you tapped your toe to the last song, then changing lanes after you glanced in the rearview mirror, then locking all the doors and hitting the gas until the car crashes into a tree.
But hey-it drove itself!!
Like the 2013 death of Michael Hastings?
https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/journalist-who-brought-down-us-general-is-killed-in-los-angeles-car-crash-idUSBRE95I046/
The stupidest part about the self driving supervision that is never mentioned is that even if the driver is attentively supervising the self driving at all times, is if they need to take over, their reaction time will be much slower than if they had been manning the controls. Their foot will not have been on the gas pedal, their other foot will not have been as near the brake, and they won’t feel the need to intervene proactively but rather reactively because they noticed something has gone wrong. The car is about to run over a person or drive into a tree. If they had been driving it themselves, they would have seen the person long before and slowed down and or never steered in the direction of the tree to begin with.
Johnny Cab moved on to practicing medicine, but, now in his “golden” years, he will be waxing philosophic and working the post-secondary education grift in the upcoming “Starfleet Academy” series assuming the new owners of Paramount don’t write off the woke production.
As Mencken stated, “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed, hence clamorous to be led to safety, with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”.
In other words, we’re supposed to believe their BS…without question.
It seems to be working.
Hi Mark,
Look at the various things the government and corporate media wanted everyone to be afraid of just since the start of the 21st century….terrorists, climate change, white supremacists, COVID, people who use cash, people who refused to wear face diapers everywhere, the unvaxxed, Donald Trump, Russians, people who questioned the 2020 election, etc.
Years ago Nixon made a statement to the effect of Americans are like children and need to be led to where they need to be. Well f*ck you Tricky Dick and all your successors. I will not be led anywhere, I just want to be left alone. Push me hard enough and you will find out the meaning of “if you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing left to lose”.
‘Features on the BMW system include automatic lane change[s] on highways that are activated by the driver glancing in the mirror.’ — autos.yahoo.com
This. This is what I hate: technology that jumps to conclusions and serves up actions that I didn’t ask for.
Every competent driver constantly scans the mirrors to be aware of surrounding traffic. But now, an instinctive glance in the mirror means the car suddenly swerves into the next lane. This is effed up and dangerous. Plus, you’re being monitored.
‘Ford, for example, charges $495 for a year’s worth of BlueCruise hands-free highway driving in the U.S.’
Ahhh, so now we get to the real motivation: SaaS (Software as a Service). Auto makers can’t make any money the old-fashioned way, just by selling their shitty. boring wheeled appliances. So now they are software peddlers, using crippled capabilities as a lever to extort subscription payments. It’s an automotive version of the pay toilet, with the same nasty smell.
‘Level 2 systems are becoming cheaper as automakers move to software-defined platforms where functions are controlled by central computers. The cost of ADAS is plummeting because automakers are now able to buy non-intelligent sensors.’
Connect the dots: central control means not just sporadic bursts of telemetry, but rather that the vehicle is connected all the time. Which is bullshit: I live in a rural area with big gaps in cell coverage. Not that I want, or would tolerate, a connected vehicle in the first place.
Two minutes of hate for the suck-ass auto industry! They are enemies of the people. I call for their utter destruction by fire.
Is this true about the car initiating a lane change in response to the driver looking in the mirror? That cannot be-in that case if there is an accident and you as the driver didn’t even initiate the action that caused it how can you be held responsible? Yikes.
Can you imagine working on your computer to create a complex excel spreadsheet and having the software decide to change a formula with no warning or notification because you looked at it more than once?! That must mean you didn’t think it was correct – allow Excel to modify it!
Even worse now, Jim, the new cars punish you for looking in your mirrors if you have the eyesight technology. Which (as I think Eric has mentioned) shills like a mother-in-law if you take your eyes off the road because, Heaven forbid! You actually used your mirrors!