OH WOW! That would’ve been terrifying! Something your mind-cam can never erase even if you don’t have a dash cam to remember it by. Yikes. I can certainly see the benefit in the newer cars having things like assisted braking to recognize situations like these and try to prevent them from being so bad, at least in theory. I can’t imagine how traumatic that must have been for you.
One thing I like about Dashcams is that if the recording helps me then I can have proof and choose to share it. Even if it was something this traumatic and I didn’t want to relive it or see it again, I could still choose not to view it myself, but it could help make sure that my repair and hospital and other bills are taken care of (evidence it wasn’t my fault no matter what the other guy tries to say).
Sadly, there are too many instances where other drivers try to lie about what happened and push the blame anywhere else, making up things that weren’t even true.
There are some people who are honest though...
The last accident we had a couple of weeks ago, a pregnant door-dasher in a hurry accidently T-boned us, but she was such a sweet cool lady, and we enjoyed chatting while we waited for the cops and when they came, she totally took FULL responsibility to the cop…I was shocked, we didn’t need a dash cam this time, it’s like the first time someone hasn’t just given a billion excuses or blame. I liked her a lot, we could’ve totally been friends.
I wish more people were honest like that, but in my 4+ decades I’ve learned that when people are facing potential financial or other consequences for their actions, it’s more of an exception to the rule to find someone who takes full responsibility for themselves, and while those are amazing people, I’ve learned it’s safer for me to have a dashcam or something just in case I’m involved with one of the other kinds. 