Since vehicles first hit the market decades and decades ago, rear passengers haven’t had the best view of the road. Sure, they could look out the side windows, but they never had the privilege of viewing all of their surroundings like their fellow front passenger. This leads to never-ending boredom for these occupants, and this vicariously influences the driver’s ability to safely operate the vehicle. After all, it’s tough to maintain focus when you have a young child lamenting their lack of entertainment.
Well, that’s all about to change. Dodge engineers are almost done working on their “Backseat Driver” technology, an innovative function that will improve the traveling experience for any passenger. For those seeking a new 2018 Dodge Durango in Keene, New Hampshire, this will be a technology that you should surely consider as you’re building your new ride.
What does the technology include? Now, the driver will be placed in the back seat along with their co-pilot, meaning the usual “rear” passengers get to sit up front. These occupants will now have an opportunity to view the entire road in front of them, an opportunity that wasn’t available previously.
Of course, your first thought may automatically go towards the safety implications. While the driver will indeed be facing the rear of a seat, a specialized camera (and accompanying video screen) has now been included to provide them with a pristine viewpoint of the road. Ultimately, it does little to reduce driving quality and safety, meaning these drivers surely won’t notice many changes from their usual commute. On the flip side, those rear passengers will enjoy the impending ride a whole lot more.
“My son and daughter absolutely love the technology,” said an anonymous test driver. “The whole time, they were marveling at all of the vehicles we were zooming past. Meanwhile, I didn’t have to hear them complain about how bored they were. It’s truly the best technology the brand could have come out with.”
The driver’s children echoed this sentiment.
“It was freaking awesome!” the child said as they popped a Tide Pod. “I always wondered what my parents were looking at while they were driving! Now, I know! It’s, like, freaking awesome crud, man!”
Of course, some of the older test drivers weren’t so thrilled with the technology. Millie Davis, who is about to turn 95 years old, was convinced that the screen was displaying a movie, not the road in front of her.
“If I wanted to watch a movie, I would have paid a penny and visited the local movie theatre,” she said. “I don’t understand why I have to pay an extra $10,000 to have this technology installed in my car. They didn’t even have any James Dean movies.”
The brand does warn that the “rear” passengers have to be trustworthy. They cited one example of a trouble-making rear passenger who consistently warned their driving parent of an impending road hazard… despite the fact that the road hazard didn’t even exist. As a result, the brand has somehow found a loophole to assure that they won’t be found liable for any accidents or damage that the new technology may vicariously cause.
Of course, that shouldn’t be a concern in the first place. While these drivers used to have to worry about their rear occupants’ complaining, the new Backseat Driver technology assures that that’s a thing of the past.
