The problem is that modern vehicles (and cars are just the same) not only insulate the driver to what is going on, but also increasingly step in to take control when the physical forces the driver has unleashed have built up to such an extent that the vehicle is likely to go out of control.
I personally believe things have gone a little too far already in this direction, but can’t see how things could be rowed back even a little.
In some ways drivers should have that scare most of us have had when everything has gone light and getting it back under control can be an arse twitching time , instead of which they don’t even know half the time when traction control has cut in to prevent wheelspin, so they don’t suddenly find themselves accelerating up that damp hill sideways, or leaving that roundabout with the whole vehicle in a sideways rush because the electronics are now so good.
It might seem odd that i’d like drivers to experience those heart stopping moments, but unless you do you don’t learn to respect just how little grip is available on some surfaces in some conditions.
It all went wrong imho when the gearstick was replaced by a switch, that alone allowed a whole swathe of people to get behind the wheel who wouldn’t have wanted to before, and maybe shouldn’t be there now.
That was the first large scale dumbing down, it was done to reduce driver abuse of engines and drivetrains and to help improve fuel economy of those to whom driving wasn’t a natural or who had not the faintest idea nor interest how to make efficient progress on the road.
At one time this vehicle abuse thing policed itself, because there were knowledgeable people in charge, and enough good drivers looking for jobs that vehicle wreckers soon got shifted on…plus you got given the old banger when you first started on a job and had to prove yourself before you got given a decent lorry.
As things went along drivers lost the feel for what was actually happening at the point of contact with the road, some had no idea if the tyres were on the point of losing grip or a jack-knife was on the cards, they increasingly had little idea about using the brakes effectively without just stamping on them which used to induce massive wheel lock ups where anything could happen and often did.
So ABS came along, and because some hadn’t a clue about cornering forces including grip, we then got stability electronics and traction controls.
Some couldn’t help tailgating nor steer the thing in a straight line, so we’ve ended up with various forms of cruise/distance control and lane departure warnings…how long till the vehicle takes control of the steering when lane departure kicks off (this happens on some Volvo cars already apparently), not to mention automatic emergency braking.
All this might sound like i’m against progress, i’m not, i like my new lorry a lot, even the auto box has been massively improved so i no longer drive the thing in manual, only interfering with manual input a few times a day.
I like the superb brakes too, the quiet comfort serious sound system and much smoother ride than older stuff.
I am not against the improvements at all, but without doubt we’ve lost seat of the pants skills along the way.
It’s not actually the fault of the drivers themselves that the job has been increasingly automated, and many drivers welcome the improvements, however what has happened is that the driving force has been deskilled in that very few learn to drive their vehicles without electronic controls, and fewer still have bothered to work out when those electronics need to be switched off and take back control because they are either preventing progress (ie in slippery or maneuvering conditions) or might actually cause an accident (ie aebs causing a severe braking event for no good reason).
The other issue now is that so many drivers take no pride whatsoever in their craft, with each new driver aid that comes along the viscious circle turns once more and and an even less competent minority (and it is a minority) find themselves behind the wheel of ever bigger heavier lorries.
The thing is lorries stand out so much, if 20 car or van drivers behave like utter morons it blends into the maelstrom of traffic, but when a shiny high image liveried lorry is driven badly its there for the world to see, and the rest of us get tarred with the crappy brush as a result of a tiny handful of the incompetent/bullies.
Yes the training industry does have a part to play in this.
Firstly an auto pass should as in a car only give you an auto lorry licence, the fact you passed in a manual car means bugger all.
But the biggie for me with the industry is that they teach people to drive lorries like cars, with too much emphasis on brakes to slow gears to go, and we’ve all see the results (tragic beyond words) of the folly of this method.
A lorry is a lorry it is not and never will be a large car, there should be a serious review by the training industry of its practices here, so drivers get taught to actually control that lorry to give them a chance to stay in control when the crap hits the fan.
Proof that a lorry is still a lorry is that lorry makers go to great expense to fit auxilliary braking systems so the main brakes can be saved for when they are needed.
However, all this is just waffle, automation is going to increase and the job is going to be further deskilled.
Whether things will improve for the driver as time goes by i’m not sure, unless incompetent behaviour behind the wheel improves, it won’t, the poor drivers will be just as they always have been their own worst enemy, and increasingly legislation will be brought in to stop the worse actions.
As always those who try to drive and behave properly will be the ones to suffer, because one size fits all and lowest common denominator are the two rules about running lorry drivers on too many outfits now, where those who don’t need to be led by the nose get swept up with the dregs.
The dregs then leave, because they weren’t lorry drivers anyway and had no interest or pride in the job and the good guys are left having to suffer the results of the long gone dreg’s actions, as per bloody usual.
And another cycle in the race to the bottom is completed, rinse and repeat.