The driver assistance systems of the past
07/24/2015
Everyone is talking about driver assistance systems these days. Everything that takes some of the driver's work off their hands (or distracts them) is now called a driver assistance system, from lane departure warning to park assist to front assist.
However, there were similar systems in cars much earlier, they just weren't called assistance systems.
For example, the start assistant has been around for many years; it was called choke. Or the gearshift assistant, traditionally called automatic transmission. The windshield wiper intermittent system could also have been called windshield wiper assistant, the power steering system steering assistant. The anti-lock braking system, ABS for short, would probably be called a brake assistant in today's marketing literature, and the electric/hydraulic window regulator would be called a window closing assistant. The cruise control would be a speed stop assistant, the headlight flasher perhaps an attention-getting assistant.
Of course, these suggestions are not meant seriously, but the point is that car manufacturers did a lot early on to support the driver in steering and relieve him of (physical) work ...
