Every time I see a TV ad where the car "stops for pedestrians for you!" I cringe... I get it's a safety feature, and maybe it's just the way they set it up in the ad, but it always feels like it's forgiving distracted driving. And I don't blame the drivers, because cars are coming with fewer and fewer physical knobs and buttons, so drivers are forced to decipher whatever horrible hieroglyphic LCD touchscreen-based UI has been installed in the vehicle.
It takes committed effort to not let these safety features take the place of proper defensive driving. All these cars with rear view cameras simply teach the next generation of drivers that they can just drive by looking at the (tiny) screen.
All the same, I will admit to having had my life (and car) saved by the blind spot monitoring system. There are still some situations where situational awareness and a shoulder-check will NOT cover 100%.
Real talk, 360 degree cameras are a game changer. Especially on cars with 10” lcds. I upgraded my current camera system with the 360 one (and a Tesla style 12” lcd) and I never look around anymore. Zero blind spots. This is in addition to the blind spot monitoring and collision avoidance system (which really reacts later than I would like).
Honda integrates their mirror cameras into the dashboard for even less eye movement (the only car I’ve been in with factory mirror cameras). I, for one, welcome our newfangled technology overlords
