Tag Archives: driving

May 8, 2026 · 7:09 am

It’s Official: I Love Adaptive Cruise Control (And What It Means For Self-Driving Cars)

Interior view of Tesla dashboard and steering wheel driving on highway with mountain sunset

In July of 2025, I bought a new car. It was actually the first wholly new car I’d ever bought. Prior to that, I’ve owned two used cars. Neither one of those cars had a model year within the decade I’d owned it. The first still had a tape deck. So, getting a brand new car with all the most up-to-date features you’d expect of a car made within the past eight years was a big deal.

Now, I could go on and on how much I love my new car. I could dedicate entire articles to how much I enjoy Apple Carplay, seats that don’t feel like a metal slab, and an air conditioning that’s actually reliable. But of all the features I’ve come to love about my new car, one in particular stands out. And that’s adaptive cruise control.

If you own a car made within the last four years, chances are you know what it is. You’ve probably used it to a point where it’s mundane. But for me, a guy who generally avoids long drives and lengthy road trips, it felt like a revelation. It also got me even more excited about the future of self-driving cars.

To appreciate this sentiment, I need to share a little anecdote. Even thought I bought my new car nearly a year ago, I didn’t take it on any long road trips. The furthest I drove it was to a relative’s house and that was barely a 40 minute drive. I admit I did have a bit of reluctance to take those drives. On top of not liking lengthy road trips in general, I felt protective of my new car. It’s the first new car I’d ever owned. The last thing I wanted was to put much strain on it. I know that sounds dumb, but that’s how I felt.

Then, I finally had to make a trip. My family planned a small get-together. But this time, the location wasn’t close. It was a two-hour drive away. I agreed to go. I wanted to go because this was one of those family get-togethers that was overdue. It marked the longest drive I’d done to date with this car. Since a good chunk of it would be on a major highway, I planned to use adaptive cruise control.

I admit I was a bit confused on the controls. I ended up watching some YouTube Shorts to learn how it operated. But once I got the hang of it, I was astonished by how well it worked. More importantly, it made that two-hour drive (which ended up being longer because of heavy traffic) much less stressful.

It felt like a natural evolution of cruise control. My previous car did have cruise control, but it rarely made driving easier. Whenever I went on road trips, I didn’t get many chances to use it. Traffic was too erratic and the roads did not support it, even on highways. But adaptive cruise control does a bit more than maintain speed.

When you pair it with lane control, the car essentially is on autopilot. It stays within a particular lane of the highway. And it uses sensors to detect whether there’s a car in front of you and whether it’s necessary to decelerate. You still need to keep your hands on the wheel. The car does have this beeping noise that reminds you to stay engaged. But that’s largely a safety thing. I understand it because this isn’t full self-driving. This is just making these long stretches of highway driving smoother, less stressful, and less strenuous.

I admit I didn’t know how effective it would be. I’ve heard mixed reviews of self-driving and adaptive cruise control features in cars. But my personal experience was remarkable. By the time I got to my destination, which ended up taking two-and-a-half hours because of traffic, I didn’t feel nearly as drained or sore as I usually did. It showed in how the get-together went. And when I drove back that same evening, I was sold. I don’t think I’ll ever buy another car without this feature.

It still took some getting used to. For the first few miles of using adaptive cruise control, I still culched the wheel like I often did with my old car. Eventually, I saw how effective it was at sensing other cars ahead, maintaining a certain speed, and staying within the lanes. There was still this weird feeling, having a car drive itself to some extent. I think it had less to do with trusting the technology and more to do with changing how I approached driving a car on a highway. I don’t know how common that feeling is. I suspect it might play a part in why people remain skeptical about self-driving cars. But for me, it got me genuinely excited for the future of this technology.

I understand that, as I’m writing this, fully autonomous cars aren’t where they need to be. Even though there are already robotaxi services like Waymo, the technology still has its share of kinks. And I suspect the public doesn’t trust self-driving cars, to say nothing of the companies producing them.

But it’s also worth remembering that this tends to happen a lot with new technology. It took a while for the public to trust cars. The novelty can be overwhelming and it takes time to get used to the idea. Eventually, the utility and economic advantages of cars overshadowed the reluctance. It didn’t happen overnight. It didn’t even happen in the span of a few years. All technology goes through periods of refinement, development, and regulatory approval. Self-driving cars will be no exception.

I don’t know when that time will come, but it feels a lot closer now. After having experienced the joys of adaptive cruise control in my new car, I’m honestly rooting for this technology even more. I understand there are skeptics. I don’t doubt there are real concerns about the safety, reliability, and overall impact of self-driving cars. In the end, it’s a simple calculus. Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? Society has made that calculation in the past. It did so with cars and it’ll do so again with self-driving cars.

As much as I love my new car at the moment, I know there will come a time when I prepare to buy a new one. Hopefully, when that time comes, the car I buy will have a self-driving feature. It’ll be something where I just get inside, input my destination, and relax for the duration of the drip, no matter how long or short it might be. If that’s an option, then what could that mean? Would that mean I suddenly feel more open to long trips? Would I travel more, go to new places, and meet new people? I don’t yet know, but I look forward to finding out.

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July 10, 2025 · 6:20 am

My Excitement (And Hopes) For Buying My First New Car

I’ve never been much of a “car guy.” I’m not someone who gives much thought or passion to whatever I’m driving. To me, my car is just my car. It’s my way of getting around. Given where I live, it’s painfully necessary. Public transportation is present, but woefully inadequate.

Simply put, I need to have a car. And I’ve never cared much for style or features. I only care that it runs.

As a result, I’ve only ever owned two cars in my adult life. Both were bought used and with a fair amount of miles on them. My first car was a used Buick. It wasn’t pretty and it had few features, aside from air conditioning. But the previous owner hadn’t driven it much and it was fairly reliable. So, I drove that for years.

My second car was actually my parents’ old car. It was a Honda sedan and had far better features than my Buick, such as seat warmers, a GPS navigation system, and an AC that actually worked on hot days. After putting well over 60,000 miles on it, they sought to sell it and trade up for a new one. When I expressed interest, they gladly accommodated me. They even gave me a nice discount.

I’ve been driving that car ever since. And it has definitely shown its age. It’s so old that it still has a 6-CD changer. It’s also had increasingly expensive repair bills in recent years. It’s at a point where keeping it for much longer is going to be costlier than buying a new car.

And that’s why I’m genuinely excited about my next car. Because for once, I’m not just looking for something that runs. I’m looking to purchase a new car off the lot for the first time in my life.

That may not sound like such a novel concept. But since I’m not being a car guy, it’s going to be a new experience for me. I’ve been saving up money for quite some time now. I may not be able to afford anything luxurious, but I should be able to buy something that’s decent, up-to-date, and has features appropriate for this decade.

In addition, I hope that buying a new car will help change another perspective I’ve developed over the years. In general, I do not like long drives. If any trip means driving for more than two hours at most, I look for alternatives. It’s not that I can’t endure those drives. I just prefer not to.

I don’t know if it’s because of the cars I drive or if it’s just how I’m wired. But if I’m driving for more than a couple hours, my back starts hurting and so does my right shoulder. It becomes so painful and strenuous that I have to pull over at times, just to stretch. I also get very anxious when stuck in traffic, more so than most people.

Perhaps a new car with better seats and better features will change that. Maybe a car that has adaptive cruise control will make longer drives less strenuous and more enjoyable. Maybe I would be more inclined to go on more trips and visit more loved ones. In my area, I don’t live too far from major train stations. But the schedule is limited and the service isn’t always reliable. If a new car can change that, then maybe that’ll change how I approach other things in my life.

That’s my primary hope for this car. A part of me also hopes this is the last car I’ll ever buy. Because by the time I’m ready to let it go, self-driving cars will have advanced enough to make that unnecessary. But those hopes are remote. Unless I move somewhere with vastly better public transportation, I’ll likely need a car for many years to come.

I don’t need it to be fancy, futuristic, or big. I just need it to be reliable and comfortable. That way, I can see driving as less of a strain and more of a simple chore. If that opens up other opportunities along the way, then that’s just a nice bonus.

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December 24, 2021 · 8:31 am

A Quick Personal Story About Driving Through Snow (And Energy Drinks)

How to Drive in the Snow: All the Equipment and Tips You Need | WIRED

We all have certain stories from our lives that stand out for no particular reason. They aren’t life defining moments like graduating school, falling in love, or eating your first Krispy Kreme donut. For reasons that are just completely unknowable, you remember them so vividly.

I’ve shared a few personal stories in the past. Some are more dramatic than others. Some were just funny and worth sharing. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how to classify the one I’m about to share. I just think it’s worth sharing because it’s just one of those stories that really sticks out. Hopefully, you’ll see why when I tell it.

Like all my personal stories, I need to establish a little context. This story takes place just a few years after I got out of college. I’m at an interesting point of transition in my adult life. I’m still living at home, but I have a stable, well-paying job that has allowed me to amass some regular income.

I also have my first car, which is a big deal for anyone in their mid-20s. I’m still getting used to the idea of being able to just go out on my own at any time I want. Before then, I was at the mercy of bus schedules and whether my parents would let me borrow one of their cars.

Then, one day, I met up with one of my cousins. She and her boyfriend at the time were living about an hour-and-a-half away from where I was at the time. This is someone who has known me my entire life. She also knew how socially awkward I was and how hard I was struggling to come out of my shell.

Being the wonderful cousin she was, she invited me to hang out with her and her husband one night. Unlike other meetings, I wouldn’t be with other friends or relatives. It was just us, sharing a night on the town, enjoying ourselves on our own terms. It was a bit daunting at first, but she convinced me to try it.

Now, what we did on that outing is another story altogether. The most I’ll say is that we had a great time. She took me to this cool restaurant where we met up with her friends. She then took me to this nightclub where we just danced and hung out. In terms of a night out, it was probably the most fun I’d had since I graduated college.

The real story begins when it gets really late and I’m wondering whether I should drive home. As it just so happened, this was early March and it was still fairly cold out. On top of that, there was some snow in the forecast. It even started snowing lightly while we were on our way back to my cousin’s apartment.

At one point, I’m debating if I should stay the night. They had offered me a chance to stay on the couch and that had been my original plan. However, the forecast kept getting worse as the night went on. I was concerned I might be snowed in and their apartment wasn’t exactly built for guests.

After some back-and-forth, I decide to try and drive home before the storm rolls in. Keep in mind, this is about 2:30 in the morning. It’s the latest I’ve ever driven anywhere, let alone an hour-and-a-half away from home.

Again, it was pretty daunting. Then again, driving on a snowy road in the morning is just as daunting.

Since it’s so late, I’m concerned about staying alert and so is my cousin. That’s when she offers me a couple of Monster Energy Drinks. I’m not talking about the small, discount size, either. These are full-sized cans. Typically, you only need to drink one. Me being so concerned, I decided to have two.

At this point, I’d like to offer a bit of advice to everyone. Do not drink two oversized energy drinks. Just don’t. They’re not good for you.

This is something I had to learn for myself. With flurries still coming down and the roads getting worse, I say goodbye to my cousin. I then get in my car, which is still very new to me, and start making the trip back home at nearly 3:00 in the morning.

Of all the experiences I had that night, this might have been the most jarring. It was genuinely strange, being on the road so late. I wasn’t used to seeing so few cars. There were times when I would drive down large stretches of highway and only see a couple cars pass by. Some of that might have been because of the weather, but it was still a strange feeling.

I grew up outside of major metropolitan areas. I’m used to traffic and traffic jams at all hours. I had never been out at a time when there was so little traffic. It was kind of nice on some levels, but given the late hour and the weather, it was also kind of spooky.

Then, the energy drinks kicked in. Remember, I had two of them, so the effects were definitely noticeable.

On some levels, they did exactly what I wanted. They kept me alert. The problem is, they kept me really alert. I was so alert during that drive that I felt like I was performing brain surgery on the President. I didn’t relax, even during long stretches on the highway. I physically couldn’t. That’s how wired I was.

The weather didn’t get much better, either. The closer I got to home, the worse the storm got. By the time I was on familiar streets, the roads were pretty slick. I drove slower than usual, despite being so alert. I was almost paranoid to go too fast.

Eventually, I do make it home. By then, it’s about 4:30 in the morning. The snow is still coming down and the streets are covered in ice. It’s quite a sight, but what I remember most is just parking my car and feeling like I finished a harrowing adventure. I was both relieved and elated, although some of that might have been because of the energy drinks.

I’m still a bit too wired to sleep at this point, but I ultimately crash after just a half-hour. However, this is no ordinary crash. Coming down from two Monster Energy Drinks is not like coming down from a few two many sugar cookies. I crashed hard.

I remember getting really dazed and drowsy. Then, my ears start burning and my face gets flushed. I then collapse on my bed and go to sleep. When I wake up a few hours later, I have a pounding headache, which I basically spend the rest of the day sleeping off. My whole internal clock gets messed up, as a result. I need the rest of the weekend, just to re-balance myself.

As stressful and harrowing as that night was, I’m still glad I did it. I’m grateful that my cousin went out of her way for me like that. Now, in hindsight, I would not have chugged two full energy drinks. That would’ve spared me the pounding headache later.

Even so, the experience was worth the discomfort. I still don’t entirely know why this story stands out as much as it does for me. I just thought it was worth sharing. If nothing else, I hope it dissuades anyone from chugging too many energy drinks at 2:30 in the morning.

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September 23, 2021 · 5:42 am

Self-Driving Cars Are Already Saving Drunk Drivers: The Promise And The Implications

Self-Driving Cars: Everything You Need to Know | Kelley Blue Book

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 10,497 people died in traffic accidents caused by drunk driving in 2016 alone. That accounted for 28 percent of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. A non-insignificant chunk of those deaths were children. Even if you’re not good at math, you know that is not a trivial figure.

There’s also a good chance you know someone who has been hurt or worse because of a drunk driver. This sort of thing is personal for me because one of my cousins was killed by a drunk driver many years ago. He wasn’t even drinking. He was just unlucky enough to be in the back seat of the car at the time.

It’s an issue that has existed for as long as cars. It’s also an issue that policy makers and car manufacturers have tried to address through awareness programs and safety features. However, these measures can only do so much. So long as human beings are drinking and driving cars, this will be an issue.

That dynamic will likely change considerably when self-driving cars enter the picture. To some extent, they’re already making an impact. You can buy a car today that has some measure of self-driving features. They’re still not fully autonomous, but we’ve taken the first critical steps. From here on it, it’s just a matter of refinement.

Even though it might be years before self-driving cars are common, they’re already making an impact and it’s not just in terms of sheer novelty. Very recently, a Tesla Model S, which has an autopilot feature, did something cars of old could never do.

It saved a drunk driver who passed out behind the wheel, which likely saved or prevented serious injuries to others around him. Here are the details, according to the site, Telsarati.

Teslarati: Tesla Autopilot prevents drunk driver from making a fatal mistake

As explained by the Eastern Police District on its official Twitter account, a 24-year-old Tesla owner ended up passing out while driving his Model S. Fortunately for the driver, the vehicle’s Autopilot system was activated, which allowed the Model S to stay in its lane without causing trouble to other drivers.

Upon detecting that its driver was unresponsive, the vehicle eventually came to a stop and engaged its hazards. The man was later attended to by emergency services. No one was injured in the incident.

The police noted that the Tesla driver, who was found unconscious in the Model S, was evidently drunk, though he denied that he was driving. Video evidence showing the Tesla owner passed out in the driver’s seat have been shared online, however. The police stated that necessary tests have been taken, and that the Tesla owner’s driver’s license has been temporarily suspended. A case has also been filed against the driver.

Such an incident could have easily been a lot worse. It is very easy for drunk drivers to harm themselves, after all, but what’s even worse is that they could very easily harm other people just as easily. These scenarios would likely not be as prevalent if vehicles are capable of safely stopping on their own once their human drivers are incapacitated.

The bolded text represents the most relevant details. Without these features, this incident could’ve played out like so many other drunk driving tragedies. A drunk driver passing out behind the wheel would’ve, at the very least, led to the car going off-road and crashing, thus resulting in significant injury. At worst, the driver could’ve hit another car, thus compounding the tragedy.

However, thanks to these emerging systems, that didn’t happen. The safeguards in the car worked. The only real harm done involve a hangover and a DUI. Compared to the alternative, that’s far more preferable.

We should not understate the importance of this development. Think back to that 10,497 figure from 2016. Thanks to the autopilot system in that Tesla, the figure for 2021 will be at least one less. It doesn’t eliminate the tragedy of drunk driving all at once, but it’s a start and an important one, at that.

Driving is inherently dangerous, but a lot of that danger comes from the people behind the wheel and not the machines themselves. Anything operated by a human is prone to human error. An autonomous system, even if it isn’t a full-fledged artificial intelligence, can and will mitigate those errors.

That’s not to say those same autopilot systems aren’t prone to error. They certainly are, but remember that this technology is still very new. The first cell phones couldn’t send an email or reliably play streaming video. That took time, energy, and better hardware.

At this very moment, car companies and tech companies are putting in all that work. There is a lot of potential profit in refining this technology. However, I would point out that you can’t put a price on human life and, as it stands, thousands will continue to die every year because of traffic accidents, especially drunk driving. This one incident might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it’s still one tragedy averted, one accident prevented, and at least one life saved. For anyone who knows the pain of losing a loved one to drunk driving, that’s worth celebrating.

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