Back in days of yore, cars came equipped with steering wheels the size of satellite dishes because of what was called "recirculating ball steering". The way this thing worked required that you turn the steering wheel 3 or 4 revolutions just to make a left or right hand turn (side note, this why some people put a brodie knob, aka knuckle buster, on the steering wheel, to make it easier to turn.) It also meant that as you cruised down the road you were constantly moving the steering wheel back and forth to keep yourself in the lane. The steering was so loose on these cars that you could move the wheel 3 or 4 inches in either direction with very little effect --- even more if your idler arm or tie rod ends were sloppy.
It also meant that one of the first things you learned as a beginner was how to respond to the car drifting right or left, which every car did, all the time (side note #2, this is also why you were admonished to keep your hands at 10 and 2, because you would need to be constantly compensating for this drift.) As you drove down the road the car would start to drift, say, to the right, and as it did it would pull the steering wheel just a bit to that side. Your response would be to gently bring the wheel back to the left, gently being the operative word here, lest a sudden jerk send you fishtailing. All this was part of how I learned to drive and all of which became part of my driving DNA, so to speak, which is still deep within me to this day.
Which has to do with Auto Pilot how, you are asking? I'm glad you asked...
Auto Pilot ostensibly keeps the car centered in the lane, when it isn't slamming on the brakes for phantom rabbits running out in front of you. It does this how? By moving the steering wheel for you, ever so slightly, in the opposite direction of what it perceives to be your drift. Ergo, if the car drifts a bit to the right, the steering wheel shifts a bit to the left. In addition, you are required to keep your hands on the wheel just enough so you can feel the wheel turn against your hand force.
So what happens to an old fart, like me, who has that driving DNA mentioned above, when this happens? Well, when I feel a steering wheel move on its own to the left, my driving DNA goes into reactive mode, I grab the wheel and ever so slightly move it back to the right. Which happens to be the direction the car was drifting when Auto Pilot moved it. So now, for a few seconds or so, I'm in a tug of war with Auto Pilot... the car is drifting right, AP wants it go left, my driving DNA pulls the wheel back to the right, AP insists the car is drifting right and yanks it back to the left, I resist and pull it back to the right....... this all happens in just a matter of seconds, but still... and then there's that phantom rabbit running out in the road.
All to say, I find myself most comfortable cruising down the road with my hands firmly on the wheel, my driving DNA responding as it always has to the slight natural drift of the car --- a little to the right, a little to the left --- Auto Pilot nestled quietly asleep in its little digital bed, oblivious to both the drift and any phantom rabbits. I'm happy that the car comes equipped with this delightful (or not) little feature, and every now and then I awaken it, just to see what it's like to be a cyborg whose responses are in synch with the technology, which mine are not and never will be. And then, after several miles of back and forth I put it back to sleep and go back to doing what comes naturally...
It also meant that one of the first things you learned as a beginner was how to respond to the car drifting right or left, which every car did, all the time (side note #2, this is also why you were admonished to keep your hands at 10 and 2, because you would need to be constantly compensating for this drift.) As you drove down the road the car would start to drift, say, to the right, and as it did it would pull the steering wheel just a bit to that side. Your response would be to gently bring the wheel back to the left, gently being the operative word here, lest a sudden jerk send you fishtailing. All this was part of how I learned to drive and all of which became part of my driving DNA, so to speak, which is still deep within me to this day.
Which has to do with Auto Pilot how, you are asking? I'm glad you asked...
Auto Pilot ostensibly keeps the car centered in the lane, when it isn't slamming on the brakes for phantom rabbits running out in front of you. It does this how? By moving the steering wheel for you, ever so slightly, in the opposite direction of what it perceives to be your drift. Ergo, if the car drifts a bit to the right, the steering wheel shifts a bit to the left. In addition, you are required to keep your hands on the wheel just enough so you can feel the wheel turn against your hand force.
So what happens to an old fart, like me, who has that driving DNA mentioned above, when this happens? Well, when I feel a steering wheel move on its own to the left, my driving DNA goes into reactive mode, I grab the wheel and ever so slightly move it back to the right. Which happens to be the direction the car was drifting when Auto Pilot moved it. So now, for a few seconds or so, I'm in a tug of war with Auto Pilot... the car is drifting right, AP wants it go left, my driving DNA pulls the wheel back to the right, AP insists the car is drifting right and yanks it back to the left, I resist and pull it back to the right....... this all happens in just a matter of seconds, but still... and then there's that phantom rabbit running out in the road.
All to say, I find myself most comfortable cruising down the road with my hands firmly on the wheel, my driving DNA responding as it always has to the slight natural drift of the car --- a little to the right, a little to the left --- Auto Pilot nestled quietly asleep in its little digital bed, oblivious to both the drift and any phantom rabbits. I'm happy that the car comes equipped with this delightful (or not) little feature, and every now and then I awaken it, just to see what it's like to be a cyborg whose responses are in synch with the technology, which mine are not and never will be. And then, after several miles of back and forth I put it back to sleep and go back to doing what comes naturally...
