- drivers experienced with L2 assistance were the most aware of on-road events
- drivers inexperienced with L2 assistance were the least aware of on-road events
- drivers not using L2 assistance were in the middle
This seems like a quite positive result for driver assistance features - they increase situational awareness but take a bit to get used to.
I've got an electric car with level 2 assistance since last year and although I didn't drive as much as expected due to Covid-19 and lockdowns I feel how driving has changed.
At first I was very "afraid" of the systems doing stupid things and probably killing me while doing that. I was very focussed on controlling the slight steering it does when getting near white lines (Germany here) or how it would brake when following another car.
As that fear passed, I became much more concious of my surroundings, paying more attention to what other drivers might do (especially on the Autobahn) and how I could improve my "driving style" to create a better flow of traffic.
Can't wait to experience higher levels of assistance systems. I'd LOVE to get into the car, position myself behind a truck with 90 km/h on the right lane and let the car do it's thing while I'm not watching what it does.
E.g. a car coming up in the next lane left will trigger an alert, resulting in an involuntary swerve to the right. This is not improving her safety at all.
You can say 'just learn to deal with it', but its been a year and no change.
I got a Hyundai and it has a lane assistant which keeps you in your lane, but it doesn't freak out when somebody passes you.
Braking, when you run up to a slower vehicle in front of you, is sometimes a bit stronger (depending on the speed difference), but it's not alarming either.
I know of dead spot assistants which light up in your mirrors if you have a car in the dead spot, but those don't beep either.
What kind of assistance system does your wife's car have? Just to avoid that... :-D