Kaban ni D_BystandeR; MODERNONG DISENYO SA SAKYANAN

Having a hard time parallel parking? Press a button on a touch screen and let the car park itself.  Want to stay a safe distance from the car ahead while travelling 65 mph? Switch on adaptive cruise control and let a radar-linked computer handle the accelerator, slowing and speeding your vehicle to keep pace.  The assisted-driving technologies that just a few years ago seemed so futuristic are here, bringing the auto industry closer to a George Jetson-like world where drivers may no longer have to drive. 

 "We are looking at science fiction becoming reality in a self-driving car.," California Gov. Jerry Brown said recently when he signed a bill that would allow self-driving cars on the state's roads.  Although that might be some years off, automakers are pouring millions of dollars into systems that hand more control of a vehicle to a complex network of sensors and computers.  Features such as collision avoidance systems that sense a potential crash and trigger the brakes or an alert that tells drivers they are wandering into adjacent lanes are making their way into more cars every year. Industry, traffic and insurance experts believe that the advances are beginning to transform driving in a way that will reduce accidents and injuries.  "This is the future," said Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 

 "Vehicles are designed to protect people when crashes happen, but it would be even better to prevent crashes from happening altogether."  Drivers are just beginning to experience these new features, and it's not always without a hitch. That's what happened when Los Angeles attorney Randy Garrou test-drove the "intelligent parking assist" feature in a Toyota Prius v hybrid. The system backed the station wagon into a lamppost.  "If that had been a human, the person would have been wiped out," said Garrou, who along with the salesman escaped injury. The experience left him thinking such autonomous driving features "aren't ready for prime time."  An occasional glitch isn't stopping the auto industry and technology companies from speeding into the self-driving-car segment.  Google co-founder Sergey Brin said autonomous cars could be functional and safe for operation on public streets within a few years. Think autopilot.  But the concept of handling over the steering wheel to a computer is making some people ill at ease.  

"It freaks me out," said Michael Sigman, a writer and music publisher in Los Angeles. "It's totally fascinating, and I would like to see how they work, but the idea of thousands and millions of people 'not' driving around in these things is very scary." Despite the uneasiness, there is some evidence that the early autonomous driving functions are already improving safety. 

(Bug-os ang  pasalamat sa KAHAYAG ngadto sa nagsulat niining  paambit   nga si JOHNNY LOVE. Nagtakuban siya sa pangalan, "D_BystandeR".  Natawo siya sa Sugbo apan anaa na karon manimuyo sa Illinois sa tinipong nasod sa Amerika. Ang kusog nga koneksyon sa kasayuran pinaagi sa internet kanunayng naghaling sa iyang kadasig  pagtuki sa mga nagbukalbukal nga hisgutanan dinhi sa atong nataran. Usa siya ka magsusulat nga gradwado sa kursong komersiyo padulong sa pagka accountant sa University of San Carlos kaniadtong tuig 1961.  Nahimo siyang miyembro sa usa ka hugpong sa mga batan-ong magsusulat nga gitawag ug STUDENT PRESS.  Nahimo usab siyang   Associate Editor sa basahon  USC-JPIAN sa tuig 1962-63. Magtatampo usab siya isip magsusulat sa nasudnong magasin,  "Philippines Free Press" ug sa mga nag-unang peryodiko dinhi sa dakbayan sa Sugbo sa lunhaw pa ang iyang pangedaron. Nahimo siyang mamumuo sa usa ka pribadong kompaniya sa dakbayan sa Sugbo, ESCANO LINES, sulod sa napulo ug duha (12) ka tuig  dayon niyang tapon  ngadto sa NAPOCOR  ug nahimong kawani sa kagamhanan  sulod sa bayente dos (22) ka tuig. Niadtong tunga-tungang bahin sa tuig 2000, nilalin siya ngadto sa tinipong nasod sa Amerika ug sulod sa napulo (10) ka tuig, nagtrabaho siya sa  buhatan sa kagamhanan sa nasod sama  sa  UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE (USPS).  Karon sa pangedaron nga 67,  gihuptan gihapon niya ang walay pagkutat nga kadasig ug walay busganan nga kaikag sa pagpaambit sa iyang nahuptang abilidad  ug kabatid sa panulat.  Dili niya mapugngan ang kaugalingon sa pagpaambit sa iyang mga hunahuna labi na kon molambigit kini ug hisgotanan nga makadani sa iyang mga mata. Kinutlo kining paambit gikan sa pamantalaan Sunday Tribune sa isyu Oktubre 21, 2012)