this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
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My car isn’t driverless, but I as the driver have less control than ever before.
It’s an EV, and it will not shift to drive or reverse if the charging cable is attached.
Great for preventing me from destroying a charger. Terrible for getting away from someone trying to mug me.
Far too much of the safety features these days assume an environment in which all harm is accidental. This comes at the cost of safety in environments where someone is trying to harm another person.
You don't complain about having to open your door or start the engine when escaping a threat.
Having to unplug a cable during a very specific, imagined threat seems like a niche problem.
The difference being that not being able to start the motor with the door open is only a problem if the driver was being attacked in a parking lot.
It's not too big of a leap to imagine a world where a person could immobilize a car at a red light with the plug cut off from a public charger. Wall up to a stopped car, open the hatch (maybe it needs a pry bar) and put the dummy plug in. Now the car is immobilized. Smash the driver side window and they're in business.
Sure, there are some safeguards that can be added like requiring a current to immobilize the vehicle, but it's far from the simplest or safest answer. Car manufacturers need to stop putting in hard limits and just use alarms instead. I bought a new Subaru that has collision detection standard. The hedge next to my driveway was overgrown, but I drove right through it. The car sounded an alarm and flashed a bunch of lights, but it didn't engage the brakes, I was able to blast through an obstacle that I knew was minor even though the car thought it was a threat. If a manufacturer feels compelled to add a safety system, it's possible to do so without taking control away from the driver.
I think it is. I'd like to see at least one documented case of this happening before people start demanding that cars be able to move while plugged in. Plus, in the very scenario you describe, the car would still be able to move, no? Attaching a charger does nothing unless you're changing to parked at every red light.
The only time you'd need to drive away while charging is if the attacker walks up while you're sitting in your parked car, or kindly decides to let you get in before doing anything.
I can't find a single instance of someone being unable to escape because of their charger, so maybe let's worry about it if it ever becomes a problem.