SafeSpeedv2 wrote:
Is there any 'danger' that by improving stability control and the self cleaning brakes that if any part of these modern systems fail that all braking will be removed - I assume not but ... might it ?
Ed's given a more thorough answer, but basically, "no". I'd trust a modern car with a failed ABS / ESC system any day, compared to the equivalent model of 30 years ago. They have quite a few fail-safes, and are engineered to a pretty high standard anyway, so you're unlikely to need any of them in the car's lifetime, let alone all of them! Mrs Mole's first car was an 850 Mini. It had what can only be described as a "rudimentary" braking system, but even that suffered a failure in such a way as to get the car well-sideways one day.
SafeSpeedv2 wrote:
Plus the danger of a driver hiring a car and forgetting that the braking systems are less efficient in the temporary car - when it matters !
Given that every car is slightly different, I think you could say that worked both ways though. The improved braking performance on this car would only (I think) make a really significant difference towards the end of a very high speed emergency stop. (In fact, being pedantic, one could argue only in the last 5m)!
SafeSpeedv2 wrote:
This combination delivers excellent results in the straight line test. We managed to bring the Insignia to a halt from 70mph in 47 metres exactly – it was beaten only by the BMW X6. Better still, it felt very stable and secure, maintaining its composure on bumpy surfaces.
'Standard' all round disc brakes at 70mph is 52m or inc thinking distance 73.5m so that is 5m less which is impressive - or is it ? Makes me wonder what my car will do !
(80mph (all round discs) is 68.6m (braking) 92.6m inc thinking distance.
Well fancy that eh?! Not the 75m that the Highway Code would have you believe then?
Claire, where did your 52m come from?
SafeSpeedv2 wrote:
The flashing feature does nothing if the following car is not paying attention and I fail to see the benefit. The following car if they have failed to leave a suitable gap will never stop in the same time, so how can the flashing possibly help ? It still only delivers the same message, that they are slowing / stopping so what is the point?
A toot would give the 'pay attention' signal equally as well to nearby motorists.
As Ed has said, it won't do anything if you're not looking at it, and it won't do anything (quickly enough) if the following person is on your back bumper before you start. However, I find them (and /or hazards) quite useful on motorways when the traffic a long way ahead (whch is where I like to keep it!) stands collectively on its brakes. It definitely attracts more attention than a fixed light (whch is why people have used flashing lights for hundreds of years to attract attention, I guess)! Also, (though I've never been in this situation) if it's dark on the motorway (and maybe raining too), and in the distance I see a load of brake lights come on, I know there's trouble ahead. If I notice that one grou of them in particular are flashing, it suggests that those are the cars braking hardest - so that's the area I'd want to steer away from!
SafeSpeedv2 wrote:
This is 57.4 per cent more than it required in the straight line test – the biggest percentage increase of all our contenders. It’s not all bad news, though, because the Insignia felt incredibly safe and secure during this extreme manoeuvre.
The only time in my experience that I have needed to steer away rapidly was once many years ago when out of the dark at the left most edge of my lane was a large truck tyre, I steered and had total control throughout. Now an old car (85), and it managed just fine, so will this new car with all of it's extra modern features really be worth all the extra money / effort to produce / provide any real worthy benefit ?
Can motorists cope to the sudden requirement to drive when so many features, make the driver so much more 'remote' anyway ?
Can any of it replace a driver who is simply and effectively paying attention ?
No, they can't replace a competent and experienced driver paying attention...
...but assuming we're not dealing with a driver who ticks all those boxes, (and most of them, I guess, don't tick all those boxes all of the time), it doesn't half help a mediochre one!
There are some manoeuvres (the "Elk test" is typical) that even an experienced driver will struggle with. There are some type approval tests that you simply wouldn't even try in a car with no ABS / ESC / clever features, simply because the car just simply wouldn't manage them - pretty much regardless who was driving. I've yet to meet the driver who can control the braking on each wheel individually and independently, several times a second!