tron786

If you have the full package has it been useful for you avoiding an accident.

What about the standard collision prevent assist. Anyone see that work in real life?

RixC300

Girl I work with drives an infinity with driver assist and it caused her to get rear ended. It happened on a protected right turn and her car stopped as the car in front had already made the right turn. The truck behind her anticipated her moving and ran into the back of her.

netboy

i really like the blind spot assist, when you changing lane, if a car is beside you or on your blind spot, car beeps

*Knowledge*

Driver's assist definitely saved me... saved me money by not getting it.

netboy

money is nothing, you cant take it with you. if you know what i saying.
just yesterday, i didnt expect cars at full stop at freeway injunction, i slam on the brake then the car beeps. if i didnt pay attention and didnt slam on the brake, maybe the car auto brake for me?

*Knowledge*

Oh please, I know how to drive.

I have the blind spot assist and that's about as much as I want the car to tell me. If you're relying on a car that makes sure you stay in your lane, prevents you from running over pedestrians, etc. then I'm glad you have it. We need more of these features for people like you, if you know what I am saying.

netboy

yes. i'm sure you so good at driving that you dont need car insurance !
tell me why you buy car insurance !

Mr. J

Well, bad attitudes aside, my wife works a lot of doubles at the hospital.

No matter how good one believes their driving skills to be, fatigue can easily get the best of you.

I am a very experienced driver both on and off road. Had a DOT card for a few years and drove as a wildland firefighter all over the western US. I can tell you that I witnessed my own skills and the skills of very experienced drivers degrade badly after more than 24hrs on shift.

We ordered the extra driver assist features as extra insurance for times when we are fatigued and still need to drive.

*Knowledge*

You cannot be serious.

netboy

when i went in to order my c450 amg, the saleman tried to sell me a c450 from the lot without driver assistance. he said "have you used driver assistance before?". i said "on a long trip, i get fatigue, this will help me". this shut him up. haha

Mr. J

Yep, I worked the firelines for 6 years. For 5 of those 6 years the leading cause of firefighter deaths was motor vehicle crashes. They all followed a very predictable pattern. The crew would be returning to camp and while en route the driver would make an error and either leave the roadway or roll the vehicle.

These incidents became so routine that the Forrest Service began requiring firefighters who were assigned as drivers to be pulled from assignment at least 1 hour prior to departure. Basically, we were paid to take a nap before leaving the hill. USFS/BLM/and BIA still do this, I think CalFire may do this for their crews as well.

Mikey53

It's a good tool for those specific times you are momentarily distracted or happen to be looking the wrong way at the wrong time. Every driver has those moments, even those who "know how to drive."

To think people "rely" on these tools, as if they drive with their eyes closed, is pretty silly to even say. The dollars spent are a good investment IMHO.

BenzC400

The drivers assistance package is cool, fun, and improves safety. Distronic plus with steering assist really reduces stress on long highway drives and can save you from you own inattention. It looks like the next generation in the new E Class will be even more capable. The current generation works well and I look forward to the new advancements of future generations.

sadpanda

When I still had a W204, I got a GLA loaner while it was in the shop for the umpteenth time. On my way home through town, I was driving through an intersection when I was distracted by a pedestrian. As soon as I looked at the pedestrian, I heard the collision assist go off and the car came to an immediate halt from ~30mph.

Turns out that the car in front of me had slammed on the brakes in the middle of the intersection, because he in turn hadn't been paying attention to the road (cell phone). If not for the collision assist, I'd have rear-ended him, without a doubt. The one time I didn't pay good attention to the road, I was extremely lucky to be in the loaner. Collision Prevention Assist Saved me thousands of dollars. I was very happy to get that standard feature when I moved up to my W205.

In today's age of distracted driving, the feature is a potential savior. You're pushing your luck if you keep driving fatigued or distracted - sooner or later, the system will fail you - but I also think that it's naive to assume that we are immune from driving vices. Better to have the system than not.

nadeau

hahaha i didn't want this either, but the car they had on the lot had it, i always have that **** turned off when i drive

flagman

One should not rely on these driver assist features, but they can save your a** when you least expect it. The fatigue monitor came on once, while driving home from a wedding at 2 am, on a dark highway. I didn't even realize I must have closed my eyes for literally a few seconds when the steering wheel vibrated, the display turned red and the car started beeping. My wife was in the passenger seat and she said she didn't notice anything about me that seemed like I was about to fall asleep, nor did the vehicle wander, cross a line, slow down or behave in any way differently. It is very possible that if the warning had not activated, I could have been involved in an accident. This feature paid for itself in that one incident.

Blind spot assist is also very helpful. Despite checking mirrors and blind spots, I'm sure every now and then, all of us have had a near miss that could have ended up being something worse. It can be as simple as someone behind you changing lanes into your blind spot after you've already done a shoulder check. This feature can save you from that.

Each feature has the potential for saving a life, injury or serious property damage. But none of them should be looked at as a substitute for proper attention and avoiding distractions.

Spalato

Once, I was driving behind the truck in the right lane on German autobahn trying to set the navigation when the truck braked, and without collision assist plus it will be close. Only one crash cost much more than cap option.

gfmohn

On my way home from the dealership on the very day I took delivery(!), I was driving in the right-hand lane of three lanes of high-speed interstate. I was completely unfamiliar with the car. I didn't even know how to turn on active driver assist (Distronic Plus). A faster car was passing me in the far left lane. Both of us moved to the center lane at the same time! There was no danger of collision, because the faster car reached the center lane a car length ahead of me and he was going faster. But because we both were changing lanes, his arrival in front of me was very,very quick. My C300 reacted instantly- bright red light on the instrument panel, loud tone, and full braking. It really threw out the anchor! In a second, the braking stopped, as the faster car pulled ahead. I was impressed!

I made this comment on 10/03/15. I must admit that I would have been less impressed if a car behind me had rear-ended me. A rear-end accident would have been an irony, because, as I said, there was no danger of collision with the car ahead. But I never would have tried to fit myself between two cars in that way. Still, if I were changing lanes by reflex because of an accident ahead or some other emergency..., well, no system is perfect, and the benefits of these systems far outweigh the possibility of complex situations which the system cannot handle. See my second story below.

On 09/25/15, i made this comment:
"Some other threads have concluded that if you do not put your foot on the brake, you will get only 40% braking. To get full braking, you must be actively braking yourself. I recently "tested" the automatic braking a week ago. In heavy traffic on I-287 in NY State at 60 MPH, an 18-wheeler suddenly changed lanes and cut off [a car which cut off] the car in front of me. I braked hard, but not full braking. I didn't think I needed full braking, and I was more concerned with giving the lady behind me as much room as possible. My C300 disagreed and slammed on full emergency braking. (Full emergency braking is very impressive! My wife is short, and had her seat back reclined half way back. The braking almost submarined her out from under her lap belt!)"

I failed to add that that to avoid the very danger of rear-end collision that was already my concern, I was back on the gas a half a second after the full braking commenced. This canceled the braking. By this time, the car ahead of me (which had been cut off) was already accelerating away from me. (When describing complex highway situations, it is often a difficult choice whether to simplify or else to throw in every little thing. This was a high speed situation involving at least five different vehicles. Something caused the truck driver to change lanes. It could have been a sixth vehicle in front of the truck. Or it could have been something on the road or else simply the driver's impatience.)

The greatest benefit of these systems occurs every time my wife is a passenger, even when no emergency happens. She is a practical, even intrepid woman, but she is an extremely nervous passenger. She is especially nervous about rear-end collisions (although I have never even come close to having a close-call with her present). I traded my 2007 C280 solely to obtain these systems, especially the Distronic+ active cruise control. She can feel the Distronic+ constantly working to control the distance to the car ahead. She was with me when second of the two stories described above occurred. Knowing that there is an electronic backup system which is never distracted has made a huge difference to her riding comfort.

Shadwell

I think its great... now i can watch video in motion without fear of having to take any responsibility for anything..
I would take a nap but the bloody thing keeps beeping at me...

skullboy

So I had my C450 for a few months now and still not sure if Collision Prevention Assist (auto brake) system is standard on all W205 C-class or do you have to have the optional Driver Assistant package (which i did not opt for). What about pedestrian recognition ? Can anyone comment?

abstractls

It has saved me twice now, definitely was worth it

kowyzg0moo

Drivers Assistance has saved me on multiple occasions, especially driving in LA where no one seems to know how to drive or moving trucks love to slam the brakes with no brake lights. I love how i can cruise around long trips if I want to, drive when I want to.

I've never had the Pedestrian Recognition actually do anything like brake my car, but it has beeped - I was making a right turn when a pedestrian decided to run across with their dog and my car beeps. I thought it was really weird but I couldn't see them at night (they were wearing all black).

Steve71

I've had several situations where the car has "beeped" at me.... when a bike came out of an intersection and when I didn't notice a car ahead of me had braked. In the second instance I was distracted by something on the NAV screen.

But I absolutely LOVE Distronic. It's not only great at highway speeds, but does a fine job in stop and go traffic, especially on the highway. I like to be in control, but I find that Distronic takes much of the stress out of long rides.

Koenig1

Definitely worth it, but here's a story with my 2015 ML350.travelling to FL from Ontario, with a bike rack, 2bicycles with a vinyl tarp, duct taped to protect against the snow. Start was bad with freezing rain, iced up the Distronic but kept going... 200 miles in, passing a semi, the sensors kick in,(braking to the right) and steering into the semi. Fight the wheel, and move on down the road... WTF! Another pass with another semi... Same game! Pass a 3Rd semi, same thing and the wife is freaking out! Pull over to find part of the tarp flapping. Apparently passing the semis, created enough suction to have the loose tarp flap the bumper sensor. The ML reads this as an incoming car (accident) and takes evasive action, breaking to the right (into semi) to avoid accident!
The tarp was removed!!!
You just never know!

WoWro

To *Knowledge* - please send your photo on forum. I want to see person who never make mistake. You are now my idol ;-)
I look on that systems like on insurance. I hope I never need them, but if it save me once it is worth the money.