cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/30702092
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The safety features are worth millions of crashes prevented and thousands of lives saved, making them remarkably cost-effective.
Capping the luxury features and size of passenger vehicles would do a lot more to bring down costs than removing safety features.


I am sceptical when it comes to electronic safety features that downright take control of the vehicle from the driver. The idea and intent might be good but when you put it in the hands of a car manufacturing company that wants to save money it can quickly turn into something that is more dangerous if it is not regulated properly.
A great example is the ABS system. I learned to drive without it. Then some car companies did the half-assed implementation of a single channel system. (Essentially of only one wheel lost traction all braking power would be severely reduced on all wheels). That shit was downright dangerous in the winter. I had to use the handbrake to not end up cutting into a busy intersection because my breaking power had been reduced to almost zero by the ABS system because one wheel was on an ice patch. For as long as I had that car after that, I had the ABS fuse pulled in the winter.
Now my fear is a half-assed automatic braking system that brakes without warning for no good reason.