So true total agree with all stated above very good post but you will find a lot out there will not agree with you . I have done advanced driving courses were you prove the foot control for bends on the road getting your speed adjusted for the bend and maintaining the same speed through the bend then driving out when your see the strait road ahead . Last year I drove from Ingham to Townsville with a friend who is 75 he told me he would have got there quicker than me has he uses cruise control just set it on 100 kph he told me I slow down to much for bend , at one stage ask why I had slowed down I pointed out a possible hazed I was tod I was to defencife I took that has a complement after attending many accindent you are aware of driving for the other driver has well I for one would never use C/C

This is utter bulldust,

if you are a driver then cruise control will make no difference.

Perhaps it is because you are LAZY drivers who are prone to losing concentration therefore you then become dangerous drivers.

 

I don't like cruise control and if it was in my vehicle I wouldn't use it.
When working in WA the boss's Landcruiser had c/c and I did try it on the long run to Derby. I didn't like the feeling of not have TOTAL control of the vehicle I was driving. My concentration didn't lapse, but it just didn't feel secure.
I have since read using c/c in very wet conditions confuses the technology and can lead to speeding up and then losing control on the slippery surface.
Cruise control may be convenient in "ideal" conditions, but not in traffic, in adverse weather, or tricky terrain.
Maybe on the long straights on the Nullarbor, the WA Great Northern Highway, the NT, Pt. Augusta to Three Ways, those sorts of long, straight highways, in IDEAL conditions.
I have known people set the c/c at 60KPH, in the 'burbs, and let it role. Terrifying for the passenger, ME!
I think it's lazy way and could lead to concentration lapses.
It's not ourselves we have to concentrate on, but the other bloke and all the world around us. Be alert! We need more "lerts".

rockylizard wrote:

---

Gday...

Yer dead rite mate. Loss of concentration is a CERTAIN killer when driving a vehicle - no matter what it is.

Letting ya mind wander, even without CC, and not noticing the speed advisory signs on corners or that shiny bit on the road or that change in surface or that animal grazing on the side of the road or chatting to the people in the vehicle or trying to chastise the kids in the back or getting mentally involved with that song or conversation on the radio or talking on the mobile (even hands free) or talking on the CB - everything we do when supposedly in control of a vehicle will impact on CONCENTRATION. So - no matter what you are doing in the vehicle - whether on CC or not - concentrate and make sure you are not getting fatigued or bored.

The motor vehicle is the MOST dangerous thing we use in our lives - be wary of it.

Cheers

and despite all that - happy travelling

John

-- Edited by rockylizard on Thursday 24th of March 2011 03:14:04 PM

-- Edited by rockylizard on Thursday 24th of March 2011 03:15:17 PM

---

 Great reply mate and absolutely spot on. Ask any police officer or emergency services crew attending fatalities what was in the drivers hand (ie mobile ph, cd) and was cruise control involved (in use) and that is before alcohol, drugs, legal/illegal and fatigue. I speak from handling the consequences.

 

my dad uses cruise control around town, ill never use it, dont like it ...

MY car has a built in alarm which you can set at any speed which will sound if you go over the speed selected so you don't have to kept checking speedo

found this on the internet & added the little bit  of my own thoughts in bold writing:

 

Advantages

There are a number of advantages to speed control systems, including:

· Automatically maintaining speed reduces driver fatigue, by increasing the comfort of the driver and reducing the likelihood of painful leg cramps. (very true & you can lose the sensitivity of the foot on the peddle after a long period, but, maybe then would be a good time to stop the car & have a stretch)

· Cruise control reduces the likelihood of being pulled over for speeding by maintaining a pre-set speed.  (a GPS can do this as well by presetting a warning sound into it for a specific speed)

· A maintained speed allows for better fuel economy by reducing acceleration. (except when you hit a hill & find it has dropped a gear to keep up the speed when you would have preffered to let the speed drop to save the fuel)

· Many drivers find that the speed system is more relaxing, as it reduces the amount of attention they constantly have to pay to the speedometer.(can relate to that)

Disadvantages

Unfortunately, cruise control systems have a number of disadvantages as well, largely due to the automation of the process. Some of the most notable disadvantages include:

· Because they require no attention from the driver, speed control systems sometimes encourage highway hypnosis. Accidents have been known to occur in which drivers who weren't paying attention to the road drove off a curve or into other cars because of the constant speed.

· Driving on a bad (or wet)road surface can cause a car set to a constant speed to skid (or hydroplane) uncontrollably, with the driver unable to disengage the control fast enough to respond to the situation.(also if the foot isn't kept VERY handy to the break peddle at all times then in an emergency the time it takes to engage might be the difference between life & death)

Cheers

Jon

brickies wrote:

---

There is a road safety solgon drive to conditions , bit hard to do that if your sitting back on CC

---

 That thing on the end of your right leg is called a foot, on CC it will be doing nothing, if you lift it up and place it on the brake pedal for just a fracttion of a second to get the brake lights to operate, it will cancel out the CC.

 

That is called "driving to the conditions."

 

As a professional driving instructor, I constantly tell my pupils that there are only TWO skills required to keep you alive in a car.

1.  Good observation skills.

2.  The first will allow you to "Drive to the conditions."

 

Whether you use a CC or not, there is only one person in control of the car (You), about time people started to take responsibility for their actions and not blame the "road, weather, other drivers, the CC. etc"

 

Dusty

 

Dogbox, When you doze, the foot does not necessary "come off" it can get heavier and you leave the road at the same speed or faster, either way you hit something or someone.

If you feel drowsy, STOP and have a rest, that's obsevation skills, which in turn leads to driving to the conditions.

 Dusty

-- Edited by Landfall on Thursday 24th of March 2011 09:06:00 PM

-- Edited by Landfall on Thursday 24th of March 2011 09:06:23 PM

I don't have CC, but have on occasion, driven cars with it. I liked it at the time, but I must admit, it made me nervous. More nervous than I would normally be. Because I wasn't in control of the vehicle.

 

I rate ABS brakes equally as dangerous, it has cought me out many a time on gravel or fast braking, only quick thinking on my part avoided disaster.

Welcome to Grey Nomads Father Ted. It seems your entrance has been overlooked in the discussion.
Thank you for your contribution, and I look forward to your contributions.
Safe and happy travels.

Hello fellow "steering wheel attendants" - well if you think about it .

Remember if you wanted th air on - you opened th flipper windows and th front vent .

I still do that , I have a couple of old Bedfords .

You wanted to know how to get somewhere , you pulled up at a garage and asked th Bloke ,

he took th time to tell you , now you get ignored by a console operator , who tells you to

buy a map or street directory , or you go to Dicks & buy a gps- I will NEVER use them , I got

taught how to read a map . I AM a Better Driver than c-c . I trid it once , in pic of my truck.

On Hay plains & Broken Hill to Cobar . Guess what Syd-Adel , I did that run a lot, fuel varied

 5-10litres . with c-c 60litres extra . when compared to previous driver , c-c same . I am a

Vietnam Vet - I got taught MORE about road safety than surviving Vietnam . To any protestors

of that era - 510 Aussies were killed in Vietnam - 863 Australian defense personnel were

killed on Australian roads for the same period we were involved in Vietnam . I did not hear

anybody protesting about cars & road toll . As I have said previously - For every vehicle

class I have driven , I have been accredited to drive - car , 4x4 , hire-car , bus , truck ,

fire-truck , ambulance , semi-trailer , b-double , road-train . I have never ridden a bike ,

don't want to , have not towed a caravan - maybe not too far off . What am I getting at -

DRIVING not Distractions - I thought I got taught how to drive - NO , I got taught how to

get a licence . I got taught how to drive @ the Navy driving school . Then I did Defensive

driving courses , THEN I did an Advanced driving course . Here endith th lesson.

Richo

Unlike most I tow a small van....using cruise control......last trip I did one trip without and used 20% more fuel ...speed kept going up.....as said before..take lots of breaks...and get out of the car and walk around just not sit there.