FYI..a friend of mine is a partner in a Volvo dealership. Volvos stress safety..seat belts, airbags, side airbags..the whole retinue. He said that Volvo is seriously considering an option on next year's top of the line models...a switch in the trunk that when turned to one position will not allow the car to start unless ALL the occupants have their seat belts on. They've had the technology for a few years, and feel they've worked out most of the glitches..
No wonder the lefties like Volvos. Even so, this just gives the property owner (car owner) more power to enforce his decisions about how his property is used, so I don't see it as ALL bad.
—nanny-car adj.
Example Citations:
The legacy of the witless 60 Minutes investigation into runaway Audis almost two decades ago is that soon nobody will be allowed to start a car, raise or lower a convertible top, or so much as open the gas cap without flooring the clutch, putting on the parking brake and then putting both feet out the window.Nanny-car syndrome will get worse, as traffic density and automotive performance increase; as manufacturers turn cars into rolling offices, restaurants, I'm-so-wired communicators and DVD entertainment centers; and as driver competence plummets.
—Stephan Wilkinson, "Man & Machine," Popular Science, December, 2003
Your car soon may be more than just transportation. It could become your nanny.Federal regulators are urging automakers to install devices that chime, buzz, beep, blink and otherwise nag you until you fasten your seatbelt. Ford uses such gadgets, and others may follow.
Seatbelts save lives. They would save a lot more if we could get our usage up from the current 73 percent of motorists.
The feds also are about to require sensors that will warn the driver of underinflated tires. If tire pressure is low, warning lights will come on until the tires are properly filled. That's going to require a lot of badgering, because only about 11 percent of motorists properly check their tires.
Down the road, perhaps, the nanny car will have devices that monitor body fat and cholesterol. If they're too high, the car won't start.
Instead a flashing display on the dashboard will say: "You're too fat. Get out and walk."
—"Coming soon: nagmobile," The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN), October 15, 2002