Subaru's eyesight absolutely will stop you when you think you're about to hit something, regardless of whether or not that something was moving previously.
It's actually really annoying if you live in a rural area without clearly defined lanes, and large, stationary objects (tractors and whatnot) close to the road.
I have a Subaru with EyeSight and it does strange things sometimes. For example, if I happen to be in the left (passing) lane going around a leftward curve and a car in the right lane is stopping or slowing to turn right, the Subaru will hit the brakes because due to the curve of the road, the right lane car is straight ahead. It's scared me a few times.
The other thing about the system that sucks is that it's all optical (AFAIK) so when visibility is poor, it shuts off. They need to add more sensors because those are the conditions I would most like an extra set of eyes.
Care to clarify what you mean here? Had a subaru outback with eyesight a few years ago and I tested it with stationary objects in path multiple times (cardboard boxes and such). The subaru braked and stopped short of the objects 100% of the time.
I've also driven a Subaru with EyeSight. I think it's pretty good too, and kinda follows the same philosophy as my Honda, but with different tradeoffs. The Subaru doesn't lane center, so it's less relaxing to drive on the highway because you have to pay more attention to fine tuning your lane position. On the other hand, my Honda deliberately won't automatically come to a stop to avoid a collision (it will only slow down in the last few seconds), so it's more annoying in stop-and-go traffic.
This has already started - look up the discount some insurers give to owners of Subarus that are equipped with EyeSight. The numbers show their collision avoidance is making roads safer.
Also, interesting fact: Subaru is achieving these impressive stats using stereo vision, not lidar.
Actually not. Subaru's EyeSight is currently the best system available. Especially in local traffic on detecting bicycles, kids and all those things even at night time.
Agreed - my wife just bought a new Subaru with the Eyesight package. I was very dubious at first, but after a few long freeway trips, I'd much rather drive her car than my older vehicle. I believe that Subaru in Japan has published some impressive statistics about accident reduction with the Eyesight package. IMO, these technologies should be mandated on all new cars.
Agree completely - Eyesight impresses me on a regular basis on the complexity of scenarios it seems to be able to react to, both when it comes to collision alerts / automatic breaking and when used for assisted cruise control.
I haven’t had any experiences with pedestrians at speed in front of the vehicle, but the rear automatic breaking in my Subaru is very aware of / sensitive to people walking behind it.
I have a 2017 Outback and there exists a cluster of switches on the dash for easily toggling all the EyeSight features.
They actually recommend to disable the "pre-collision braking" feature before driving through an automated carwash. Apart from that situation, I also disable it when I'm facing highly congested traffic for the reasons indicated in the other comments. It's very easy to do. I don't understand why this is a big deal.
I think the system works very well and has saved me several times over the years while approaching intersections and on the highway.
It's actually the side mirrors which are the problem. I tend to glance at them frequently to maintain situational awareness, but that good habit is punished when a vehicle with elevated lights simply hovers in the lane next to you. Many times I have to actively adjust the mirror to a useless position just to keep from accidentally blinding myself.
It's why deer-vehicle crashes are so common. Deer are pretty fast, and don't have any reason to stand in a road (there's nothing for them to graze, after all). But if they're crossing the road when you come along and your headlights suddenly blind their dilated eyes...
(By the way, their eyes are more like a cats, with pupils that can dilate far wider than a humans, so imagine a cop suddenly aiming a spotlight at you when it's pitch black - and then make it several times worse...)
Exactly. It's easy to avoid a stationary object on the road in normal visibility out if your headlights work a damn.
Maybe I am just too accustomed to driving on rural third world roads where cows wander at night.
It gets even worse out in the country where I live. Driving in pitch darkness in a sports car that's low to the ground and having every other oncoming vehicle be a full-size pickup truck is a recipe for almost constant blindness because their headlights are exactly at my eye level. That's when you automatically look away to the side and hope a deer hasn't just jumped out behind that truck, into the road.
Tldr: if a vehicle is on a collision course with you, it will always be in the same position of your field of view, so there may not be enough apparent motion to draw your attention. To combat this, slow down a bit as you approach intersections to generate relative motion between yourself and anyone on a collision course with you. Also scan left/right twice to double your chances of seeing hazards. The brain is very good at stitching together a coherent scene as your eyes dart around, but this might hide the fact that you have blind spots where your eyes have jumped over potentially important details.
To improve your chances of being seen, turn your lights on and wear bright colors to improve contrast. Be aware that if the sun is right behind you, people ahead of you will have a very difficult time seeing you.
It's actually really annoying if you live in a rural area without clearly defined lanes, and large, stationary objects (tractors and whatnot) close to the road.
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