The Guardian - Technology
‘In this new car, I feel patronised’: which driver assistance systems actually improve safety? 15 September 2026 at 16:00

‘In this new car, I feel patronised’: which driver assistance systems actually improve safety?

15 September 2026 at 16:00

Modern cars are fitted with features like autonomous emergency braking and fatigue monitoring. But do they support motorists or drive them to distraction?

This new car I’m test-driving boasts all the latest bells and whistles – or, rather, beeps and bings. Peer sideways for too long checking traffic and the car emits an irritating sound. Should I take a hand off the wheel to scratch an ear, I’m admonished with a strident beep.

When the car determines it’s too near a white line, it tugs the wheel against my hands and brakes as a car slows ahead. Its haptic “buttons” feel like fingers pressing back – as if an invisible presence has its hands and feet on the controls: a ghost in the machine I’m inside.

The Guardian - Technology
Flock surveillance cameras can pose a crash risk for drivers, US experts say 30 July 2026 at 13:00

Flock surveillance cameras can pose a crash risk for drivers, US experts say

The Guardian - Technology

By: Stephen Starr in Beavercreek · Ohio

30 July 2026 at 13:00

Roadside safety advocates say some automated license plate readers may not meet highway safety standards

Flock Safety cameras have been pilloried for facilitating the AI-powered surveillance of private citizens and for targeting immigrants for years. But now safety advocates are also claiming that their physical location can pose potential roadside hazards.

At the bottom of a tree-lined hill on a narrow, two lane rural road in Greene county, Ohio, stands a black metal rod with a camera and solar panel attached at the top.