SPECIAL SECTION
Share your car keys, without sharing your car keys
Your car keys don’t have to go on a ring. Today, in many cases, they can be kept on your phone—via an app. Your car can detect your phone just as it does a key fob. Letting someone else drive your car is also easier this way, because the app allows you to share the virtual keys with another person—they just need the app on their phone too. You can even set a limit for how long the keys will work, says Abigail Bassett, a journalist who has covered technology and the automotive industry for more than 10 years.
Get a driving wake-up call
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2021, 684 people were killed in crashes involving a drowsy driver. Cars sold by a number of companies, including Audi, Tesla, Mercedes and Volvo, have alarms that sound if you appear to be dozing off—even with your eyes open.
Some systems monitor your vehicle’s movements using factors like steering wheel angle and lane deviation. Others, like Tesla’s, use cabin-facing cameras to watch you for signs of sleepiness, such as yawns and rapid blinks. If the car thinks you’re drowsy, it will suggest you pull over for a bit to grab a cup of coffee or stretch.
SECURITY TIP
Is your car collecting data?
Consider holding off on connected extras like Wi-Fi and navigation, especially if your phone can connect to the dash screen.
GET A CHEAPER RIDE
Whether you opt for Uber or Lyft, hailing a ride today is a straightforward process from your smartphone.
What you may not know is that because of the Older Americans Act, some cities are offering vouchers to people 55 or older that can cut as much as $10 off the price of each one-way ride. In Charleston, South Carolina, for example, qualifying residents are given discounts on 20 trips per month. Other communities, such as Lakewood, Colorado, will help make ride arrangements for people over age 60 (rides can be scheduled two weeks in advance).
> How do you find out about services in your area?
“Go to a local senior center or benefits enrollment center [facilities that help low-income Medicare beneficiaries] and find out what transportation benefits are available to you,” says Jessica Johnson, a senior director at the National Council on Aging. Or go to the NCOA’s BenefitsCheckUp website (benefitscheckup.org), which has information by ZIP code. “These don’t require much technology,” she says. “Oftentimes, it’s just really a phone call to get that service.”
ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL ADJUSTS YOUR SPEED
1. Set the cruising speed just as you would for standard cruise control.
2. Your car uses a camera or sensors (or both) to detect when another car is ahead.
3. Adaptive cruise control automatically reduces your speed to maintain a gap between cars.
4. When the lane ahead clears, your car resumes its cruising speed.