> There wasn't even a curve here. The whole thing about the "car doesn't know" part is that... the car doesn't know. The car just sees an object that just sat

> There wasn't even a curve here. The whole thing about the "car doesn't know" part is that... the car doesn't know. The car just sees an object that just sat there the whole time with speed 0 and is programmed to assume that is a stationary object on the side of the road. Which is the likeliest explanation on a highway. Without LIDAR the car can't do more than either keep braking for every object on the side of the road, then get back up to speed once it realizes it's safe (however long that may take), or just take stationary objects as "most likely not in my pass, will ignore". By the time they realize a collision is imminent it's too late to do more than slow down a bit. Adaptive cruise control has one selling point: it maintains speed automatically thus providing more comfort. If your car keeps slowing down (or stop) for such objects then nobody would use it. Which is why it's programmed as such, for better or worse. Don't forget that the driver is still driving, the so called "fully self driving" is just a collection of driver assists that require constant attention since they can and will make fatal mistakes even in the simplest driving conditions.