Safety feature or danger?

Hmm I'll have to look into that setting too. I have also had similar issues, though mine generally happen at speeds under 25 mph when a car in front of me is turning right into a driveway etc. I can visually confirm I have plenty of clearance but car isn't "smart" enough to know they are moving out of the lane in a perpendicular direction... has scared my kids and I've had similar concerns someone will rear end me.

 

I find those features to be annoying to the point that I’ve disabled them. Whether they are a safety feature or a danger would probably depend on the particular circumstances surrounding the incident.

The ABS should allay fears of losing control. You have, however, surrendered some control by allowing these features to be functional.

As far as rear ending goes, the rear ender is almost always found to be at fault for failing to be in control of their vehicle.

 

Don't disagree, but have better things to do than deal with a damaged car and everything that goes with it for something that would be "artificially" closed. I'm gonna adjust settings and should be good enough for me

 

There is a reason most people disable these systems.


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Agree, dealing with a car accident is no fun. It’s just my personal preference to have control of the car, other than ABS, rather than rely, depend on or expect the car to behave in a manner that saves my cheese.

Would you clarify what you mean by something that would be “artificially” closed? Thanks.

 

Hopefully you wouldn’t completely lose control as the ABS should mitigate that. In fact, for many of us old timers it may be a little difficult just to mash the brake pedal in rain, snow, or ice since that goes completely against the way we were taught.
But I do appreciate your concern with the automatic braking system. It seems to be a bit of a two-edged sword.

 

I grew up driving in the snow and regularly turn off the VSC if the roads are snowed or iced; I like to feel when it slips or grips. Can relate.

I do wonder about liability. If you turn off the auto brake and someone is injured, I’m sure a lawyer could use it to show intentional recklessness.

 

Unfortunately I have this problem repeatedly, and the inability to turn the automatic braking system off completely is my single biggest beef with the car. I have a daily commute of 30+ miles round trip and at least once a month someone cuts me off on a 4-lane city road while I'm being tailgated in turn. Safest thing for me to do is quickly shift lanes, but the Clarity makes me stop dead. The system is in effect not allowing a forward recovery and removing any option beyond a possible rear-end collision at relatively lower speed. I set the autobrake limit to the lowest possible setting within the first week of owning the car as a result.
Being objective about this, I haven't been hit yet; so can I honestly prove it's put me or my car in danger? No, and maybe for those whose responses are slow or whose driving instincts are conservative, the auto-braking as implements is statistically the safest bet. But son of a b---- does it makes me angry that I don't get to use my own judgement on how best to avoid a driver in front of me.

 

If you’re referring to the Collision Mitigation Braking System, CMBS, aka: Car May Brake Suddenly, there is a switch/button near the drivers left knee that will disable the feature. At least on the US models. It must be disabled each time the car is started.

 

I would prefer to have a feature remain off once I turn it off.

Revisiting this thread has me wondering again about the phrase: “artificially” closed. No idea what that means.

 

You stated 'no help' from ABS for this scenario, but don't you think it was the ABS that enabled you to do these meneuvers to avoid a collision? The ABS doesn't just help you to stop, but rather, it helps to maintain some steering capability while traction is poor.

 

I can't dispute your experience, but this is exactly what ABS is designed to prevent. Your wheels should never 'lock' even when on glare ice. The brakes should modulate (alternating on / off) allowing the wheels to still rotate some in order to maintain some steering. It is not perfect, but usually quite good at this.

 

Maybe you should consider slowing down based on the road conditions, or moving from Quebec to an area that doesn’t have no-fault insurance.

If your wheels “locked” the ABS was not functioning properly.

 

Yes, this may be true...
However if you do encounter this, then it is likely so slippery that you will be unable to maneuver even if you release the brake,