Interesting, I call that stuff "nannies for people with poor situational awareness". I suppose they have utility as the size of the vehicle you drive increases (would have loved it when I drove a fuel truck in the Army[1]). In a mid-size sedan or smaller, with an attentive driver, they seem like a waste of resources to me. Side effects of living in a bubble of car modders and street racers, who almost never buy anything brand-new anyway.
I wonder how blind spot accidents in the US are affected by driver education? I'd love to see a comparison of data between the US, Germany, and Japan on incident rates of such accidents...
Well these new systems actually saved me at least once (probably more but it didn't feel as dangerous). It happened when van drove in front of me when I was in a runabout. Automatic brakes reacted immediately and halted the car.
Interesting that you call this stuff like you do. All these systems actually prevented many accidents around the world as cars are getting more and more safe all around.
As for blind spot system. I use it just as another data-point when driving around M25(London). Of course I look at the mirrors and those are perfectly aligned so I have no blind spots but when I look at the mirrors and see no blind spot warning I am sure all is good and I move to the other lane.
