Even though I have some qualms concerning the rapid developments in automobile technology, I have to admit that a backup camera would have come in real handy one time in my life.

It was quite a few years back when, one day, I was in a big rush to get somewhere and had to take the three boys with me. I hurriedly secured them into their car seats, started the minivan, backed up and … smashed through the garage door!

Today, despite the fact my fairly new SUV does have a backup camera, I’m having a hard time developing the habit of looking at the dashboard screen when backing up.

I guess it has something to do with the fact that I don’t get what all the red, yellow, and blue lines are for. Am I supposed to zig-zag between the lines, stay on the lines, avoid the lines at all cost. I just don’t know.

I find myself getting so fixated on the screen’s colored lines that I could quite easily run over three pedestrians, the mailman, and a dog without realizing it. So, instead, I still wrench my neck looking around as I always have.

The most perplexing aspect of all this automobile technology for me is that it seems counter-productive for the automobile manufacturers to be adding all of these high-tech safety functions to help drivers avoid accidents caused by distracted-driving, while at the same time adding countless sources of technology-based distractions.

Heck, there are so many buttons on my steering wheel that I’m not sure where I can safely touch it while driving without setting off the wipers, turn signals, anti-theft alarm, and Trump twitter app all at the same time!

Consider this fact: the manual for my two-year old SUV’s audio system is thicker than the manual for my entire 1994 Dodge van! And the audio manual is so full of technological jargon that you have to be a computer nerd to even figure out what they heck they’re talking about.

Now, I may be a nerd but, unfortunately, it’s due to my hairdo and white socks, not my computer knowledge. In fact, after reading the entire audio manual, I still have no idea how to even turn on the AM radio!

But it gets worse. Auto magazines contain numerous articles making predictions about what lies ahead in automobile technology. For example, there will be Driver Override Systems which will allow the car’s computer to have the final decision in driving strategy. It will enable the car to slam on the brakes even as the driver has the gas pedal floored. That could turn your daily rush hour commute into an amusement park-like bumper car ride.

Cars will soon be equipped with something called Active Health Monitoring. This will involve seatbelt or steering wheel sensors that will track the driver’s respiration and heart rate.

So like when I’m driving on the Salt Lake City freeway the car could shift into self-driving mode if I have a heart attack or pass out which happens all the time when I drive that stretch. The only questions I have about that is will the car’s computer then send me a medical bill and will Medicare cover it?

Computer technology will even make it possible for cars to talk to one another. For example, if I brake suddenly my car will issue a warning to others nearby to help them avoid a collision.

I guess the way it will work is a voice will interrupt their radio program and say, “Hey, watch out, the moron up ahead driving a white ’94 Dodge van, the one blowing smoke and with no brake lights, has stopped to pick up his muffler which just fell off!”

There is some good news on the automobile technology horizon. Those days of searching high and low for the car keys will soon be history. I don’t know if lost keys is a problem for you, but the way my brain works anymore it’s gotten so that I write “Finding lost keys” on any questionnaire asking for my current occupation.

The next technological innovation in car door opening is called Biometric Vehicle Access. All you’ll need to gain access to your vehicle is an eyeball! That’s right. Your car door will have face recognition just like your smartphone.

You’ll even be able to start the engine with a retina scanner. So unless you suffer from some sort of weird medical condition which results in your eyeballs occasionally popping out of your head and getting lost underneath the couch due to the cat batting them around, entry to your car and starting it will never be a problem again.

As far as self-driving cars, I am reluctant to put that much trust in a computer. Remember the computer ‘HAL’ in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey? Just try to override one of its driving decisions and see what happens.

And let’s not forget Stephen King’s homicidal Plymouth Fury ‘Christine’. There’s an early example of a self-driving car with a bit different take on the term RAM.

Mike Murphy of Pocatello is an award-winning columnist whose articles are syndicated by Senior Wire. He recently published a book titled “Tortoise Crossing — Expect Long Delays,” which is a collection of 100 of his favorite columns. It is available on Amazon.com.