Cruise Control By Brenda Williams At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Cruise control is a feature that has come standard in motor vehicles for quite some time now. Cruise control is just that; it allows the driver to cruise while the vehicle takes over control of its own speed. If you are driving down a major stretch of road without any intersections, stop lights, or stop signs, you might want to employ the use of cruise control. Cruise control comes in handy during driving hours that are not considered peak driving times. Why? Have you ever wanted to absolutely fly when on the road at night when it is just you and the road ahead of you? Everyone has wanted to do that and cruise control can help you stay at or near the speed limit posted in the area.

Set your cruise control to a speed around the posted speed limit and don’t worry about being a lead foot with the gas pedal. Now all you have to worry about is steering the car and keeping it from swerving into the other lanes. That sounds horrible but it is true. Some find that cruise control can be difficult to use because they feel like they aren’t doing much to drive and while driving at night they might find it easier to dose off behind the wheel. If you are one to dose off behind the wheel, never use cruise control.

Most cruise control systems are mounted on the steering wheel of motor vehicles and are easily accessible on either side of the horn. The buttons are located on either side of the steering wheel and speed can be accelerated or decelerated with the touch of the buttons provided on the steering wheel console.

Cruise control was first used for steam engines in 1788 and was created by James Watt and Matthew Boulton. The cruise control feature was first used in automobiles in the 1910s. The modern day system was invented by the blind inventor Ralph Teetor. He became frustrated when riding in the car with his lawyer, who would constantly speed up and slow down, making him nauseous. He invented cruise control in 1945 and the first vehicle to employ his system was the Chrysler Imperial in 1958.

Cruise control, like mentioned earlier, is used when driving on long stretches of highway that is sparsely populated with traffic because it can cut down on the use of gas and can actually be very fuel efficient because the car is keeping one constant speed. When using your own foot people have a tendency to speed up and slow down without realizing what they are doing. Another advantage to using cruise control is to consciously avoid breaking speed limit laws. Disadvantages are that people have a tendency to go into a trance or become incapacitated, thus causing an accident. Also, if the vehicle does not have Electronic Stability Control, it can go into a skid when driving on icy or wet roads when the cruise control is active.

Cruise control is a luxury in most cars and comes standard with almost every new vehicle produced today. It was an option in vehicles produced prior to 1995.

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