Disabling front cross traffic alert

They could move away from the visibility reducing side rear windows so the driver could actually LOOK to see if the way is clear. I had a salesman say, with a straight face, that Toyota was more focussed on safety than visibility. Visibility MAKES driving the car safer!

 

I would assert that a seatbelt is a bona fide and unambiguous safety device. Before airbags, seatbelts could be adjusted tight enough to keep you in place in your seat during recreational driving.

If you drive a 3200 pound Prius in a world swimming with 5000 pound SUVs, using the belt is a good idea.

Whether a cross traffic alert that interferes with driver decisions is a real safety device or even a good idea is much less clear.

Sometimes my car wants to have a say about where the car is steered, but at least I can still turn the wheel over the car's suggestion. A car that slams on the brakes because it misreads a parked car as cross traffic seems as if it could cause an accident.

All the beeps and chimes seem like a poor idea. They used to bother me, but now I ignore them all, all the time. Even the blaring continuous tone when I park within a foot of something no longer phases me.

And let a hapless driver be crushed if his car flips?

The old Acura Integras had a low belt line and low dash with thin A pillars and about as much power as a Gen 4 Prius. Excellent efficiency, handling and visibility were a part of its magic formula.

 

Driver attentiveness cannot be mandated. one reason I bought my 2008 Corolla was because I saw the high beltline that made it over here in 2010. It had great visibility and was never flipped before I recently traded it in.

 

FCTA does not have any control input, so your pondering is hypothetical, not about the function discussed in this thread. The "assist" in the thread title is an error - it's "Front Crossing Traffic Alert".

There are other functions that can slam on the brakes, but they're not triggered as easily as a mere alert.

 

Perhaps @Tideland Prius can correct the title.to "front cross traffic alert"

 

I admit, after about 50+ years of driving without ever causing an accident, being injured is not high on my list. I'll trust the airbags to keep me alive in the rare instance of an accident.