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It seems vehicles are continually becoming more and more automated these days. Pretty soon, all we may have to do is strap ourselves in... Honda Unveils Automatic Braking Feature

It seems vehicles are continually becoming more and more automated these days. Pretty soon, all we may have to do is strap ourselves in to the “driver’s” seat and tell the vehicle where we want it to take us, close our eyes and enjoy the ride. I’ve read recently of many new features that cars either have now or will have in the near future – things such as automatic cruise control, antennas that continually scan the road around you, and completely wiperless vehicles. It seems the auto makers are thinking of everything possible, because I have just learned of a new auto braking feature from Honda to be included in their Honda Legend which is slated for a 2014 release.

While this certainly isn’t the first automatic braking venture I’ve heard of, Honda seems to believe their system is going to be the best on the market by a longshot.

Honda Unveils Automatic Braking Feature

But Will It Work?

This automatic braking feature, which was only recently revealed, boasts that it can completely stop the car before it hits something even if the vehicle is approaching 40 MPH. (37 MPH to be exact). So, theoretically, it could prevent you from hitting an animal, another vehicle, a pole, or, heaven forbid, a pedestrian walking across the road. What’s not to love about that?

I don’t know, it might just be me, but what happens when our vehicles become too smart? it seems as if eventually we as a society would become less capable drivers if we constantly depend upon our vehicles to solve all of our problems on the road. We become less defensive on the road because we know our car will stop automatically if anything decides to run out in front of us. Don’t read me wrong, I am all for the advancement of technology, but I wonder if there will ever be any kind of a limit as to how far it goes.

Sometimes it’s nice to go for a drive and handle everything yourself. You know what I mean? What do you think?

[Image via The Car Connection]

SOURCE: http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/23/honda-pedestrian-automatic-braking-system/