Retrofitting Modern Safety Systems to Vintage Cars

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Peter S said:

No one is suggesting that a CAS prevents all accidents, but I would still rather have cross-traffic detection when backing my 1960s Olds or 1950's Hudson out of a parking space between 2 SUVs  than put my trust in the driver of the SUV barreling down the lane to grab the space I'm vacating.

That is the very reason that Defensive Driving teaches you to back into a space so that you can see to drive out.  You can always find a drive through space or one to back into.  A short walk from a safe parking space would not hurt any of us.

Having worked in Ambulance, Coroner and Funeral service for over forty years, and having attended several thousand "accidents" I was never at one that was not caused by a driver's inattention.  It could be inattention to health, to maintenance, the wobble in the steering or braking or just pure inattention to their surroundings.  Accidents don't happen they are caused.   An accident in Saskatchewan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Broncos_bus_crash  was caused by the driver of a B train watching a loose tie down in his mirror and speeding through a stop sign into the side of a highway coach is a prime example of this.

This has been a very interesting topic even it it strayed from the OP.   To stray once again it is my not-so-humble opinion that if you cannot parallel park in a space two feet longer than your vehicle, drive through a space 2" wider, 1" each side, than your vehicle and back through a space 6" wider, 3" on each side, you should not be driving.

 

A rear view camera has two purposes to help people with depth perception cope when backing,  and to record the idiot just before he hits you.  If you feel better with it then have it.  It will give you piece of mind, maybe stop you from bashing you wall or your car.

[Peter S]

I should apologize for being too dismissive earlier - some of the opposing points are well-considered. I suspect that Matt is absolutely right that CAS technology has the greatest marginal benefit for the inattentive or simply inept driver. But I think that even the best and most attentive of us falls into these categories on occasion, whether through fatigue, too much happening around us, or whatever. Nobody bats 1.000 and everyone makes mistakes sometimes. The backing-up from between parked SUVs experience is one I've had in real life, and fortunately the system worked. A sensor mounted at the rear of the car can look laterally along the traffic lane 10-12 feet before the driver's seat occupant. It is virtually impossible to avoid having to back out with limited side vision in an urban setting like a mall or parking garage.

 

Also, the CAS is a failsafe system. No one is arguing that it replaces prudence and attentiveness. Perhaps these systems may lull some drivers into a false sense of security but I think theis "crutch effect" is being oversold in the group. Even if this really was a factor, the net effect of CAS is positive, as reflected in the 7-15% reduction in accidents. 

 

Matt is quite right that the new car CAS systems are much more powerful than the retrofit ones. Mobileye, in fact, is simply a warning system. It has no autonomous braking capability and does not have other sensors I would most liike to have. Still, at $650, it earns its keep if it avoids one deductable and the hassle of getting even a deep scratch fixed.

 

Peter S.    

 

  

Edited April 23, 2019 by Peter S
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