According to Swiss law, the driver must be in control of his or her vehicle at all times. This is another reason why driver assistance and safety systems can always be overridden. Nevertheless, the technology is already considerable: driving assistance systems intervene in various areas of the vehicle, for example in the drive (e.g. traction control, brake assistance, hill start assistance), the steering (e.g. evasion assistant, overtaking assistant) or the signaling devices. They are also capable of sending a warning to the driver (e.g. lane departure warning). For example, the vehicle detects excessive swerving and recommends a break. What seemed unthinkable a few years ago is already standard in today’s vehicles.

Safety costs extra

But safety is not free either: driving and safety assistance systems cost extra, so they can be added or omitted when configuring a car, or are only included in higher and more expensive vehicle equipment. So if you subscribe to a car, you should pay attention to the equipment. Sure, for years it worked without driving assistance and after all we all learned to drive, but unfortunately no one is consecrated before an accident and assistance systems can save lives in case of emergency.

For example, according to a table published by the German Automobile Association (ADAC), there were 28% fewer rear-end collisions with personal injury in 2009 thanks to emergency brake assist. That is considerable.

A car subscription naturally offers an important advantage in this respect: you can drive the cars for a flexible term and thus keep upgrading to new technologies. Since the safety of our subscribers is very important to us, all our vehicles are equipped with driving assistance and safety packages.

Conclusion: Safe and convenient

Not only accidents but also traffic violations are reduced. Anyone who already owns a car with a traffic sign observer knows how convenient it is when, for example, the speed limit is always displayed. And let’s just think back to the feeling of clutching the handbrake in deepest winter to be able to start again on a steep slope. Nowadays, that’s automatic thanks to hill-start assist. All things that we have learned, but no longer have to use with newer vehicles and certainly don’t miss. 
 
So, in summary, two things can be said: 

1. Yes, the road to autonomous driving has already begun and is already making our lives or, indeed, our journeys more comfortable and safer. 
2. It’s worth taking a second look at the vehicle’s equipment, because it might even save your life or that of someone else in an emergency.