Life Happens 365 - Are You Managing the Risk?

 By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay For the past few years, it seems the only time you read or hear about self-driving cars is when a new model is released or when one crashes.  While that may make for titillating headlines, the truth of the matter is that the technology will continue to develop as time goes on.  Not only are billionaires betting the bank on it, but the systems that automate driving are slowly but surely making their way into every vehicle on the road.  If you've been losing sleep about losing control over your car to onboard automation, here's what you need to know.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr I just happened to be channel surfing last night when I stumbled upon a recent episode of Nova that was all about self-driving cars.   After taking the time to go through the evolution of fully and partially automated cars, along with the aftermath of several fatal crashes, the show pointed out the fact that like it or not, more and more cars on the road already have some form of automation installed at the factory.   Think about it.   What car doesn’t come equipped with Cruise Control these days.   Some of the pricier models even have Adaptive Cruise where the car’s speed is adjusted for the traffic ahead.   Most luxury models built today have what’s referred to as Lane Maintain that’s designed to keep the vehicle between the dotted lines.   Top of the line vehicles have automation that do everything from hitting the brakes if a hazard appears ahead to automatic lane change ability.   My point is that like...