Originally Posted by Mark DiSilvestro

Lest my comment about blaming collision-avoidance vehicles be considered silly or frivolous, here's something I found on a site called 'Jalopnik'.

In response to an article about disappearing dipsticks specifically, and the movement away from individual responsibility in general, an individual who calls himself 'Speednuts' said -

(Quote) As someone who has worked in the service departments of manufacturers from Honda to BMW, with a variety in between, I can wholeheartedly agree with this article.
When drivers no longer have to worry about the systems in their car, they do just that : get in, start the car,and think nothing else about it.
No thoughts as to what is going on in the vehicle, what it actually needs to be running,
Only thinking about the vehicle as a complicated synchronized mass of fluids and electricity and gears when it breaks down.

Here's a telling example: I had a driver of an Infiniti M56 come in raging, because he had rear ended someone. He had set the intelligent cruise control while on a road trip and then just checked out.
He came up on some traffic and expected the vehicle to brake for him, as it was designed. Except the sensor on the front bumper that monitors distance was filthy, covered in bugs and road grime. He got closer and closer to the other cars, waiting for the vehicle to brake. Never once applying the brake, he just watched his car slam into the back of another. When asked why he didn't try to stop when it was clear he was going to hit someone, he responded "I shouldn't have had to. The cruise control should have done it for me." (Quote)

Personally, last summer I was treated to a demonstration of the collision avoidance system in a friend's brand-new Subaru Forester. He sped along approaching some slow-moving cars to show me how the automatic braking system worked. Unfortunately, it didn't. Fortunately, my friend's foot did, and worked the brakes in time to avoid the sad situation of the hapless Infiniti driver related above. I was impressed, but not in a good way!

Happy Motoring, Mark