> backup camera and blind spot detection are worth real dollars

I agree on the camera.. it's been especially useful in more than a few places on my work truck, but I worry that features like BSM go along with a trend of designing more "stylish" interiors that have significantly reduced visibility along certain angles.

The difference between my small Japanese car and my sisters American SUV is amazing. I can physically see everything around my car, in her car, there are huge chunks of surrounding space that are blocked by pillars and other design considerations. If you feel you need BSM, then you may just be driving a horribly designed car.

Generally,American cars provide awefull visibility of surroundings - high and narrow rear windows, and thick pillars make me feel claustrophobic

Calling it an "accident" is doublespeak so you can wave your hands and go "I had an accident, oops, it couldn't be helped."

Making it seem like it was just your fate that day. Which if it was at-fault, it certainly wasn't. It sounds a lot better than "I am either negligent or incompetent and shouldn't be trusted with piloting a 2-ton hulk of metal."

If you checked your blind spot every time like you ought to, the blind spot detection is at best a minor additional safety backup. I see a lot of people relying on it instead of actually doing that, and the systems aren't perfect. (One good example: Someone else is starting to merge into your blind spot but hasn't gotten in the lane yet).

> If you checked your blind spot every time like you ought to, the blind spot detection is at best a minor additional safety

This is not true. On some freeways in my country, idiots have a habit of driving 2x the speed limit. Checking your blindspot at the time you started the maneuver is no guauantee it will still be empty a half a second later. The blind spot detector is pretty helpful IMO.

Btw .. I don't understand what perfect world some people live in. Do you live in a world where programmers write bug free code every single time like they have been taught?

This is one of the biggest points that I have seen taught in driver training courses and repeated throughout my life. Most of the events people refer to as car accidents are crashes/collisions.