too true, too true
Parking Assist?
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Lead Lap
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 457
Likes: 2
From: NJ
Pole Position
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 254
Likes: 0
From: NV
A faulty parking-assist function has been blamed for sending a car zooming over a parking lot division, crashing into a parked vehicle. No one was injured in the accident.
The incident occurred in the Target parking lot in Stuart, Fla. Jonathon Libratore, 27, told police he was attempting to park when the parking-assist function on his 2013 BMW malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to accelerate over the parking mound and collide with a parked car on the other side, according to the accident report.
Both cars had to be towed from the scene.
Libratore’s infant son was also in the vehicle but was uninjured in the crash, according to the report. ABC News has been unable to reach him.
BMW defended its driver-assistance equipment, saying it is designed to assist drivers with parallel parking and does not control the speed of the car.
“The system does not control the speed of the vehicle at any time,” BMW North America spokesman David Buchko told ABC News. “The driver controls the speed of the vehicle with the accelerator and the brake.”
BMW has not been contacted by authorities to investigate the incident, he added.
The incident occurred in the Target parking lot in Stuart, Fla. Jonathon Libratore, 27, told police he was attempting to park when the parking-assist function on his 2013 BMW malfunctioned, causing the vehicle to accelerate over the parking mound and collide with a parked car on the other side, according to the accident report.
Both cars had to be towed from the scene.
Libratore’s infant son was also in the vehicle but was uninjured in the crash, according to the report. ABC News has been unable to reach him.
BMW defended its driver-assistance equipment, saying it is designed to assist drivers with parallel parking and does not control the speed of the car.
“The system does not control the speed of the vehicle at any time,” BMW North America spokesman David Buchko told ABC News. “The driver controls the speed of the vehicle with the accelerator and the brake.”
BMW has not been contacted by authorities to investigate the incident, he added.
Even the stupid get stupider 
Lexus Champion
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 13,244
Likes: 1,875
From: WA
I fear the opposite. I think these kinds of incidents will add more driver assistance features, to try to take the driver out of the mix.
News said the system malfunction so not necessarily driver's fault. This is parking assist that lets you park the car automatically, don't get confused with parking distant control which only beeps by sonar sensor on bumpers.
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Lexus Champion
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 13,244
Likes: 1,875
From: WA
This has "User Error" written all over it.
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No one wants to read about driver error. They will read however that a manufacturers car malfunctioned.
Taken from BMW webiste:
BMW Parking Assistant searches for a parking pace, and does the parking for you at the drop of a command. Ultrasonic sensors in the side indicators search for availability when traveling at speeds of up to 22mph. Blue arrows indicate if parking is availiable on the left or right side of the road, while also taking care of steering as you select the correct gear and control accelerator and brake.
Completely agree with Hoovey2411 and JDR76. Totally a user error. Even if we assume that for some reason BMW's park assist malfunctioned, the driver still retains a complete control over brakes, gas and steering. The driver should have overridden the car's inputs and taken a full control over it. To me this whole article looks like as if someone planed to start a fictitious lawsuit against BMW or competitors trying to damage BMW's brand.
Lead Lap
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 527
Likes: 56
From: MA
Lead Lap
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 758
Likes: 26
From: Sweden
The park assist doesn't control the gas and brake. 100% drivers fault.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: CA
in Lexus vehicles there's only Intuitive Parking Assist, which are the sensors integrated into the front and rear bumper. For the time being they have discontinued the Parallel Parking Assist, good choice, i just think this feature is destined for a ton of mishaps. Why have a the vehicle do something automatically for you when you can still engage the gas pedal?
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