Look around on the
road today and you'll
see lots of distracted
drivers focusing on everything
except driving their cars.
We've heard so much in
the news about attempts
to develop a car
that drives itself,
sometimes with
disastrous results.
So I went to ask
Jake Fisher about it.
He runs the car
testing program here
at the Consumer Reports
auto test track.
Jake, I've been hearing the
term self-driving cars forever.
Well, I'm really sorry
to disappoint you,
there are not any
self-driving cars out there
despite what you've heard.
While the auto industry
is working feverishly
to develop a car
that drives itself,
Jake says we are a
long way from it being
readily available to us all.
There are cars that can turn
the steering wheel for you,
but self-driving, I
mean, autonomous cars,
that is something that
is a thinking machine.
There's nothing that
can do that right now.
So here's the deal.
You've got cars
now that can see.
There's cameras in the car,
there's radar on the car.
They can hit the brakes for you.
They could warn you-- if
you're going out of your lane,
they could warn you if
you're about to crash.
What do you guys call them?
Well I mean, everyone's
calling them different things,
and that's why there's so
much confusion about it.
I'm still excited to learn
more about what's out there,
so Jake has agreed
to show me some
of the most advanced technology
now being built into cars.
All right, let's do this.
It won't do the
driving for you, but it
can keep you out of trouble
when you're behind the wheel.
Our first demo of the
day, stability control.
As we approach a turn at high
speed, I brace for the worst.
So watch how I turn
on this corner.
Yeah.
Tires are screeching.
There was a time that maybe
the tail might slide out,
maybe we'd spin.
With stability
control, a computer
senses when you're
starting to skid
and applies the
brakes selectively
to individual wheels to
help steer the vehicle where
you really want it to
go but were too busy
screaming to get there.
All modern cars now
do a really good job
of trying to keep
control of that vehicle.
Demo number two,
forward collision
warning with automatic
emergency braking.
For this, Jake has a
little fun at my expense.
Hey, you want to stop?
[RINGING] Whoa!
So what'd you hear right there?
I heard a bell, a whistle.
You heard a bell.
Now, I was never in any danger.
The car ahead of us is
foam used on the test track
to simulate cars and to
scare the life out of me.
Let's look at that again
with a slow motion replay.
While I wasn't paying
attention, a camera and radar
on the front of the car
were, and the car alerted us
to the foam hazard ahead.
Then it quickly came to a halt
using its automatic emergency
braking system.
So what I'm learning today,
forward collision warning
and automatic emergency
braking can be life savers.
So funny because I always
thought that cameras was just
about backing up and not
bumping into something,
but they scan the whole
road while you're driving
to make it safer for us.
In fact, this car constantly
looks around itself
with its tiny
electronic eyes which
come in handy for demo number
three, lane keeping assist.
Jake shows off more
of the car's sensors
by veering slightly
out of his lane.
Amazingly, the car says,
oh, no you don't and gently
fixes his trajectory.
Just a little bit of a
nudge, get me back on track.
And now it's time
for the grand finale.
Demo number four,
automatic steering.
To me the car looks like
it's driving itself,
but Jake is quick to course
correct that misconception.
This vehicle still needs
a human behind the wheel.
You're not driving,
I can't believe that.
I'm driving because I'm in
control of what's going on.
I'm responsible about
what's going on.
It's automatically steering,
but it's not thinking.
There are a lot of
fascinating features,
but they don't add up to
a self-driving car that's
available at your
local dealership yet.
So for now, it's best to stay
alert, don't get distracted,
don't speed, and keep
your hands on that wheel.
