Driving places has become such an integral part of American life—I guess unless you happen to live in a city that has a decent public transit system—that it's no wonder people have some strongly-held opinions about the practice.
Let's face it, if you drive and especially if you've driven for a while, you know that driving isn't what it used to be.
There are many benefits to technology but it has also complicated things, according to these drivers, who were all too happy to answer after Redditor jacobgoldie asked the online community:
"What is something you hate about the modern cars we have today?"
"I realize that the larger pillars..."
"Gigantic A-pillars and tiny rear windows."
"I realize that the larger pillars significantly increase the crash resilience of the cabin (and they've got to cram an airbag in there) and the small rear window doesn't matter much with rear-facing cameras, but Good Lord do they create some massive blind spots."
"When I can lose an entire F350 in my A-pillar, maybe that's something to reconsider."
Gnom3y
Speaking as someone who doesn't drive (and had to look up what this meant)... ouch.
"Echoing the issue..."
"Echoing the issue with window size. 'Safety' has taken away our ability to look out of our vehicle, and transferred that responsibility to electronics to warn us. Ugh."
BrothersOats
Yeah, smaller windows aren't necessarily a good thing. At all.
"Touch screens, for two reasons."
- "As others have already mentioned, touch screens give no feedback, so you have to take your eyes off the road to find the right control instead of feeling around for the button."
- "Touch screens also remove the ability to "anchor" your finger on the control before actually pressing it. Cars bounce a lot, so it helps to put your finger on the button to stabilize your hand before pressing it. You can't do this on a touch screen since it will just activate whatever you happen to touch."
Honestly, I get nervous when I'm in a car and the driver has to look at the touch screen so much.
"I hate..."
"I hate how lazy designers just put a screen in the middle of the dash like it's a propped-up tablet or something rather than building/blending it into the dash properly."
SnarkyUsernamed
Yes, it's pretty ugly. It doesn't look sleek, if that's what they think they're going for.
"If texting and driving..."
"If texting and driving are illegal why are they putting 12-inch monitors in new cars? They have no buttons, so you have to look at the screen to make a selection."
Av8tr
Thank you! I thought we were taught about the importance of keeping our eyes on the road at all times?
"Glove compartments..."
"Glove compartments keep getting smaller and more shallow."
Back2Bach
These Actors Were Perfectly Cast In Their Roles | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Sometimes an actor comes along that is able to reach the audience on a deeper level. The actor that immediately comes to mind is Robin Williams. Although it ...Soon they'll only be able to fit... wait for it... gloves.
"Every modern car coming toward me..."
Bright LED lights. And I mean BRIGHT! Every modern car coming towards me, or in my rearview, blinds the f**k out of me without even having high beams on. It's distracting and dangerous."
nstiger83
Every driver I know complains about this all the time.
Listen up, car manufacturers!
"As cars get more and more technological features..."
"Lack of digital privacy. As cars get more and more technological features, it is starting to present very large privacy concerns for owners."
"For example, it's not possible to own a Tesla without an active internet connection used to feed driving/usage data back to Tesla."
FinestTreesInDa7Seas
Digital privacy is only going to become even more of a flashpoint political issue in the coming years.
"You pay for a lot of tech..."
"You pay for a lot of tech that you never use. Also, no one makes a small truck anymore. Even "small trucks" today are midsize."
Tibujon
Yeah, what's up with that? A friend of mine rented a "small truck" for a move and it was pretty enormous. On one hand, it was useful, but on the other hand, it was a bit unwieldly for him to drive...
"I work for a roadside assistance company..."
"I work for a roadside assistance company and one thing that never ceases to piss me of about modern cars is the disappearance of the spare tire."
"No, that 'repair spray' isn't going to cut it and yes, you will be stranded until tire shops are open again and until your very specific winter low profile 35-inch tire is available after God knows how many days."
vitten23
Good luck next time a tire blows out on the highway!
Is driving all its cracked up to be? You're bound to hear conflicting responses to this but there's no doubt that technology has changed the way we drive... for better or for worse.
Have some thoughts of your own to share? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.