My car makes it slightly difficult to change lanes if I don’t signal, some resistance on the steering wheel and a warning beep beep beep that I’m “drifting.” There are some terrible roads around here that confuse the sensors so I do a bit of steering wheel arm wrestling now and then just to keep going straight.

That is why I turned lane assist off after a dozen false positives that felt like the car was going to steer me into danger with no benefits.

Parking assist got turned off when parking in a garage set off a cacophony.

How strong is the lane assist in your car? If I was weak enough to even be bothered by the lane assist in my car, I’d figure it was time to stop driving. It certainly has never come close to overriding my steering.

Ever drive on a construction zone where they’ve started to rip up pavement and half the lane is an inch higher than the other half? Ever change lanes into that lane, and feel the steering fight you or lurch as you cross that lip?

The problem isn’t the strength needed to overcome the lane assist. It’s easy to fight it. The problem comes when you know you are well centered in the lane. But, all the sudden, you’re being pushed left or right, and you have to quickly determine whether you’re feeling uneven pavement. Or maybe a tie rod end or a ball joint has some slop in it. Maybe the power steering pump is leaking and running dry. Or, maybe the fucking lane assist thinks a strip of tar in the middle of the lane is a lane marker, and it wants me to cross the centerline.

The problem isn’t whether or not I can take it in a fair fight. The problem is that it throws a punch.

Well, that’s kind of what I’m saying. That’s insane. In my truck I wouldn’t even describe the lane assist as a nudge. It’s just barely enough to be perceivable. Certainly nothing that’s going to make me question anything other than if I’m over the line.