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Can current emergency braking systems realistically stop a t-bone accident?

Sure, if it was equivalent in capability to a class 5 self driving car, it would see the light was red, and notice the partially occluded other car, then stop in time.

But, with just a front facing radar? I don’t see how it would be able to do much. It would only have a few feet to stop.



Even a reduction in speed helps - 10 mph can make a significant difference in lethality - and sub in being rear-ended if you prefer.

The point is even a perfect driver may benefit from safety devices in the hands of other drivers they encounter.


This is a good point, thank you. I don't think anyone here would argue against this feature if it was 100% accurate. However, mandating something that has many reports of erroneous activation seems like overreach.


Defective airbags blew shrapnel in folks’ faces, too. Anecdotes are of limited value here; I’m sure you can find the occasional person who has been trapped in a car by a seat belt and burned to death. Policy needs data, not unfalsifiable claims of being a perfect driver hobbled by computer interference.

The article notes:

> A metanalysis in 2015 found a 38 percent decrease in collisions for vehicles that utilized such a system, for instance.




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