It's perspective - which chicken and which egg?
If all the automatic stuff works we don't need drivers at all, but then no one would actually know how to drive?
Or if people knew how to drive, we don't need all the automatic stuff?
I'm in the learn how to drive camp. Although, I do like the climate control with heated and cooled seats. But if my seats cooler goes crazy it won't kill me. . . I hope.
I think most people think they know how to drive. Many don't. From the time I was 15yrs old barreling down a backroad at 100mph in an old Chevy Nova, I thought I was an above average driver. I had lots of wrecks when I was young but it was because I was pushing the vehicle to see what it could, and eventually couldn't do. I wanted to know how it handled/stopped in rain, snow, dry, when the tires would let go, the dynamics of being "out of control" and how to reel it back in. I learned to drift before it was called that, I could do the Rockford turn, and, as I got smarter, went to autocrossing and stuff. Even in my youthful stupidity, my wrecks were mostly when I was doing stupid stuff with no one else around. I never caused a wreck involving another driver, though I was also in wrecks caused by other drivers. Now, 40 years later, I still test my vehicles to understand how they perform though I don't crash like I used to. LOL I will not answer a phone unless it is Bluetooth, I ignore texts until I stop somewhere again unless the vehicle will read it to me, I am constantly scanning mirrors and in front of me looking for idiots. I still believe I am a better driver than average but it is 80% paying attention and 20% skill. Skill is everything when you get in a bad situation but paying attention keeps you out of those situations.
All that said, I love ABS, stability control, collision avoidance, airbags, lane departure alerts on really long drives, adaptive cruise control, and most other safety technology. No matter how well I drive, it only takes a second for someone to run a red light, a child to run out from behind a parked car, or me to look away at the wrong moment and the day (or more) is ruined. If the vehicle can react to a situation quicker than me and save the day, I'm all for it. Doesn't mean I will get lazy and play with my phone like a child, it's just an added layer of prevention.
I'm a huge fan of self-driving car tech for the masses because many see driving as a secondary activity. I think a Tesla can drive better than many of the occupants I see behind the wheel.
