Yeah, I was thinking all is going swimmingly until the auto breaks activate you come to an abrupt stop and the car behind you slams into you, rear ending you. Indeed what can go wrong?
You cannot anticipate the mistaken actions this technology might take. Bicyclists weaving in and out of traffic could cause havoc when it is THEIR duty to be sure and mindful of their surroundings, even when they are illegally passing on the right and “riding” through red lights as “pedestrian crossers”......bad bad innovation bound to make Volvo wish they’d never taken the “we include all” approach to safety.
As a 25-year professional driver, let me say that there have been many many times when an abrupt stop would have been the wrong answer to something coming in your way, ......a deft "sidestep" was far more safe.
Or kids tossing or holding stick figgers in the right spot to laff at the car slammin on the brakes.
I am excited about this technology and applaud Volvo for developing it.
However ...
The word “slam” in the article is disturbing. In real life situations slamming on the brakes brings to mind possibly losing control of the vehicle, possibly hitting the cyclist or pedestrian that you were trying to avoid hitting anyway. So they probably meant non-skidding brake technology.