Hugo Ramos has been a driving instructor for over 22 years and has taught thousands of people how to drive.
He has been in Wallaceburg for eight of those years and over 600 students have been educated by him in this area with his own business Community Driver Training, teaching the MTO approved curriculum classes.
Hugo says driving has changed with newer technology in today’s automobiles.
“This brings up some concerns,” he says.
“Not all cars are set up the same way. Take the rear camera for example, you would get use to it in your vehicle then if you drive a friends car, theirs may be set up differently or not have one at all. You can also set up following distance in your car. So if you are a tailgater, you are probably going to set it up so it doesn’t beep to warn you until you are super close to the car in front of you.”
Hugo added: “We need to remember that we are the main controller of the car.”
Car manufacturers and makers, whether it be an expensive model or not, still need maintenance and have recalls, Hugo says.
“Just because they have all of these added bells and whistles does not mean they are going to get us from point A to B while we drink coffee and read the news,” he says.
“We should take technology with a grain of salt. Don’t look at the car as a robot that will do everything for you. Take it as extra help. You are still the main brain for operation. You are the one that decides where the vehicle is going. It will tell you when it’s time to fill the gas tank but it will not grab the hose and do it for you. The technology just isn’t there yet.”
Hugo says some stories that made the news around the world recently are prime examples of this.
“About three weeks ago there was a man killed by a self driving car in the U.S. Another man had his self driving car run into a post when it lost satellite signal for just a moment and he died,” he says.
“There are errors that we make as humans, but we can process a lot more if we are paying attention than computers can at this point. I want to stress the paying attention part. Three years ago texting and driving took over drinking and driving. That is scary to me because that means people are totally sober and killing themselves and doing it 24/7. Drinking and driving is usually long weekends, holidays and statistically could be pinpointed. Texting and driving can’t, so watch out.”
Community Driver Training’s next session is April 20-21 and April 27-28 for classes, plus 10 individual lessons in the car.
Community Driver Training is a MTO approved BDE course provider.
To book, call or text 519-312-9846 or email Udrive@bell.net.
– This story is sponsored content
