One thought is that "always worked before" isn't good enough for engineering. Most engineers are reluctant to approve a design that is based solely on testing.
The brakes are highly engineered, known to be of exceptional reliability, have redundancy, and a dashboard indicator for some known failure modes. In the two cases of brake failure I've experienced, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree, and the car was still tolerably manageable. We do adapt our driving habits to the possibility of brake failure, e.g., maintaining a safe following distance, and taking extra care when there's ice.
The backup sensor is designed with the expectation that you are the backup. You were probably told that.
Regulators and insurance companies constantly analyze crash data, so a conclusion of "always worked before" based on widespread stats analyzed by engineers is possibly OK, but not "always worked before" according to the consumer.
Granted, there may be a gray area in between full driver responsibility, and full engineering responsibility. There was a HN thread just yesterday that debated what engineering actually consists of, so there's no pat answer. And no formula for deciding, which is part of the reason why we ultimately have humans deciding, through the court system in the US.
The brakes are highly engineered, known to be of exceptional reliability, have redundancy, and a dashboard indicator for some known failure modes. In the two cases of brake failure I've experienced, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree, and the car was still tolerably manageable. We do adapt our driving habits to the possibility of brake failure, e.g., maintaining a safe following distance, and taking extra care when there's ice.
The backup sensor is designed with the expectation that you are the backup. You were probably told that.
Regulators and insurance companies constantly analyze crash data, so a conclusion of "always worked before" based on widespread stats analyzed by engineers is possibly OK, but not "always worked before" according to the consumer.
Granted, there may be a gray area in between full driver responsibility, and full engineering responsibility. There was a HN thread just yesterday that debated what engineering actually consists of, so there's no pat answer. And no formula for deciding, which is part of the reason why we ultimately have humans deciding, through the court system in the US.