Collision detection

I commuted daily through the infamous Rochester, NY, "can of worms" for several months. Some of my American colleagues were impressed, but TBH, it was nothing special.

Freeway driving in the US is made a lot harder by there being no roundabouts anywhere. In the UK, you typically come off a motorway to a roundabout at which you choose which direction you want to go. US freeways have *two* exits (for going one way or the other on the intersecting road), and they are typically *after* the junction, with the entering road being earlier, so entering and exiting traffic have to avoid each other. With the UK model, entering and exiting traffic are usually nowhere near each other (there are some exceptions).

What's worse is then leaving the freeway and realising you've taken the westbound instead of the eastbound exit. No roundabout, and as you head west you're faced with NO LEFT TURN at junction after junction (and no roundabouts) so you may have to drive quite some distance to fix your error.

Oh, was it you on the A12 yesterday?

Thåts the reason the US did away with any firm of control on multilane roads.

So numpties an get in a lane and do whatever speed they like without other people being impeded if they happen to be in a more central lane than them.

I've been comparing various 'anti-collision' offerings (and similar features) recently.

Some do just 'warn', others do apply the brakes, I'm not sure how 'firmly'- the in the brochures they aren't definitive. At least one- on the Mitsubishi Outlander- seems to require the driver to 'set' a desired 'safe distance' (my term) from the car in front- a potential weak point in my view, given some drivers seem to like to drive too close. Some systems, including one of the Mitsubishi ones will also detect pedestrians and apply the brakes. In addition, there are the 'unintended sudden acceleration mitigation' systems. (Not to mention lane departure systems etc.).

There are other features I'm not sure are legal in the UK- eg automatically flashing the 'hazards' when braking (I think just from 'high speed'). I know people do this and I don't doubt it may be sensible but I'm not sure it is legal in the UK.

All 'amazing' features but I do wonder at the long term reliability of all these systems. Vehicle 'black boxes' are reliable in the main these days but also very expensive when they fail- not to mention the issues of, say, applying the brakes at the 'wrong' time if they do fail. We've just returned from looking at a car packed with 'gizmos' and the warranty is only 3 years. Not really confidence building when the competitors offer 5 years, especially when you consider the (large) price tag. I work on the theory if the manufacturer is going to 'risk' a longer warranty, they have confidence in their product.

The fact the salesman insisted the company didn't even make the type of vehicle we wanted to view didn't fill us with confidence either. He did, however, offer me a job when he found they did.

Which are a PITA in sports cars, since the systems don't do the "unintended" bit very well.

AFAIK, it isn't.

Not an issue. it will not let you get so close that it cannot stop. There is a pre-set limit as to how close you can be.

From my experience, brakes will be applied as much as needed. I had it happen when a car pulled in front of me but it was not near collision.

Some

I must be an obnoxious old man then[1], although I've been doing it for many years and I'm not yet ancient. Would you rather that I "brake test" the tailgater, in an "obnoxious young man" sort of way? That tends to just lead to road rage, although it can be amusing at times.

Does your car know when it's wet so needs to allow more distance to stop?

Who the hell (apart from Americans who seem to "confuse the pedals") unintentionally accelerates?

But is a sensible thing to do. Motorway going 80mph average, suddenly queued at 0mph. Hazards tell the cars behind you're stopping, not just slowing down.

You mean flashing the brakelights? I just ignore that, I know you're not actually braking.

If you're going considerably slower than other people on the road, you shouldn't be on the road.

Fit some rubber onto your front bumper, then you can push the car in front up to a better speed without harming your car.

my car does it of its own accord.

I won't say that your post is the stupidest thing that you have ever come out with, but it will be in the top 500.

There is no excuse for having a slow brain. Get off the road and out of the way of the superior drivers.

If you think it's stupid, explain why you believe so.

Don't try to bait ME, prick.

Jeezo. JWS has a new sock puppet.

Tim