OT: Still on cars - passive driver safety options

[eddief]

Been driving for about 50 years...without any radar technologies. Always have had spot mirrors on the outside. If you've gotten used to driving without all the technologies, do you use lane change watchers and other radar stuff after you've gotten it?

[trener1]

I bought a car a few months ago that came with Blind spot monitoring and I have actually found it to be be extremely useful.

[FL_MarkD]

I am blind in my left eye. I will NOT buy a car without Blind Spot Monitoring. Adds a significant level of safety for me when driving. Also cross traffic monitoring for backing up is very useful for parking lots.

Good progress from my view.

My Volvo V60 has these features and more, glad I have them.

[batman1425]

My new car has all the gizmos - lane drift assistance, automatic braking, full car parking sensors, blind spot monitoring, radar guided cruise control.

I've never had a car with any of this stuff - and I largely like it. I don't use the lane drift feature much - unless on a long trip - I find it gets in the way too much for quick jaunts around town.

Blind spot monitoring, backup camera, radar cruise control are all slick, and I use them regularly. The automatic braking is a tiny bit over sensitive on my car but it's refreshing to know it is there. It mistakenly triggered once when I was trying to pass a dump truck on the highway. Apparently I got a little to close to it while accelerating out of the slipstream.

None of these things are a replacement for good driving awareness and practices, but everyone makes mistakes, and they provide something of a safety net when that happens.

[znfdl]

My new car has all the gizmos - lane drift assistance, automatic braking, full car parking sensors, blind spot monitoring, radar guided cruise control.

I've never had a car with any of this stuff - and I largely like it. I don't use the lane drift feature much - unless on a long trip - I find it gets in the way too much for quick jaunts around town.

Blind spot monitoring, backup camera, radar cruise control are all slick, and I use them regularly. The automatic braking is a tiny bit over sensitive on my car but it's refreshing to know it is there. It mistakenly triggered once when I was trying to pass a dump truck on the highway. Apparently I got a little to close to it while accelerating out of the slipstream.

None of these things are a replacement for good driving awareness and practices, but everyone makes mistakes, and they provide something of a safety net when that happens.

I total agree with this assessment, but I use the lane departure. This discussion will be similar to "do you use a mirror when you ride?". Not necessary, but a great asset. As a FYI, my auto braking saved me when two knuckle heads decided to play demolition derby in front of me. The car started to brake hard, prior to me reacting to the crash. I stopped within 10 feet of two spun out cars. As an FYI, the three of us were going 65mph. If I was driving my old car, it would have been a three car crash.

[Ralph]

My latest car has all the tech stuff also. The only thing I don't use is the hands free calling and text read outs. Just prefer to keep my attention on the road. Love it....this tech saves lives.