Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Snooze
I cannot think of a situation where such a "safety" feature is superior to good driving habits. That is, being aware of where one's car is on the road and watching where one is going. I'm guessing its benefit is allowing one to read, watch a movie or text for longer while barreling down the freeway.
Risk compensation anybody?
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It isn't a replacement to good driving habits. It is however an effective way of dealing with those that do not have those habits. It is a sad commentary to say that such things are needed but this is the real world and far too many people have bad habits and no interest in correcting them so the auto makers have to address it.
The whole safety systems built into new cars (lane departure, blind spot monitoring, collision avoidance, etc) are just there because so many actually need such prompts. I remember all the old guys freaking out when antilock brakes came out since "people don't need the car to control braking if they just followed at the right distance".
An argument could be made that some of the features are actually sort of handy even if you are paying attention. I LOVE the adaptive cruise in the wife's car for long trips even though I am still watching the road. The back up movement sensor and blind spot monitoring are also great
assists to even a conscientious driver. The one thing that I can not stand and leads me to call the Subaru Eyesight system (and the other makes equivalent) the "Distracted Driving" package is that stupid bloody beep that tells you the car in front has started to move from a stop! The ONLY purpose it can possibly serve is if you are busy doing something else when stopped in traffic and are paying so little attention to what is going on you need to be told when traffic is moving again.