We bought a Nissan Quashi a couple of months back and we are still learning the various features and I experienced one of them two days running being yesterday and today. At first I did not understand what the car was doing and on the second same such incident I am now looking at ways to turn certain features off. The car is great otherwise and have nothing, but praise for how the car handles.
I can understand this type of safety feature in normal countries around the world but here in South Africa the safety feature could actually be far more dangerous. Both times the car slammed on brakes to avoid a pedestrian who was crossing the road and there was no danger of hitting the pedestrian.
My thoughts are what if this is an attempted hijacking or a hotspot for a smash and grab where they smash the passenger window and steal whatever is visible. Having the car automatically slow down when you should be accelerating from danger is not exactly ideal and is the opposite of a safety feature in my view.
I am an advanced driver having completed high speed driving courses and know how to handle a car. If I am required to pull off a maneuver to safely avoid an accident or an incident the last thing I need is the car to be acting against my natural instincts and reflexes. For an average driver this may benefit them, but for myself I think quite the opposite and would rather have full control not having to worry about what the car might do.
Both the pedestrians that triggered the braking and safety systems were not in danger of being run over and I was fully aware of their presence. In South Africa most pedestrians do not follow the green cross code and the idiots even play frogger crossing the free ways.
Driving in South Africa you have to be aware than in most other countries as the quality of the roads is generally poor so avoiding pot holes and knowing where they are is rather important. Most traffic lights if they are working are not something you stop at in the night times and you use this as a four way stop and do not wait for the lights to turn green before driving through. This is something you just learn when living in the country and you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times.
Many years a go I had an incident at a red light when I did a stupid thing and stopped. There was someone coming from the rear on foot and his intentions were clearly not good so I put the car into reverse and narrowly missed running him over. My aim was off and he managed to escape when he was now in front of the car when I attempted my second attempt of neutralizing him. My brother was with me at the time visiting from the UK and his eyes were like saucers and he could not believe how quickly things can change and why you need to be aware. One has to spot the dangers before they arrive and why I do not want some braking system on the car because maybe you actually need to run someone over which sounds kind of mad, but this is the reality of where you live.