THERE is a photo doing the rounds on the internet of the touchscreen display on an almost new car. It states: ‘Unfortunately the most recent software update failed to install correctly. The vehicle cannot be driven’. This would be annoying enough on a laptop: to see such a message on a motor vehicle is almost incomprehensible to those of us who grew up in the days of contact breaker ignition and Stromberg carburettors.
Modern cars are undoubtedly far safer than old ones, and electronics have played a big part in that.
An ordinary family car today will come equipped with systems which prevent you straying out of the lanes on a motorway, will apply the brakes if it detects an object ahead, and will do everything possible to prevent you from crashing no matter how badly you drive it. Even something as simple as an indicator light will be computer-controlled, with the indicator switch sending a digital signal to a microprocessor and thenceembedded in the light unit. It is the computer, not the switch, which decides whether the light should be on or off.
