PCS: slowing down Prius to complete stop?

I've had some hairy situations where it's better to have control of the braking rather than the car taking over. It seems like it would be easy to get rear-ended.

 

The video says the driver stopped the car, assisted by PCS. Text below. Allegedly not faked, but oh-so promotional, especially at the end.

Confiance aveugle
Blind confidence

La Prius est la voiture la plus avancée au monde.
The Prius is the most advanced car in the world.

Dans cette démo 100% sans trucage fait en vrai dans la vrai vie sur le circuit de Zolder, nous allons vous prouver qu'elle est extrêmement dynamique et extrêmement sûr.
In this real demo 100% without special effects in real life on the Zolder circuit, we're going to prove to you that the Prius is extremely dynamic and extremely safe.

Nous avons engagé un vrai pilote, et nous lui avons bandé les yeux pour vous prouver qu'on part avec une confiance aveugle dans la nouvelle Prius. (this sentence gave me trouble, may be off by a word or two in the middle...but still the same idea in any case)
We hired a real driver, and we blindfolded him to prove we have a blind confidence in the new Prius.

Nous lui avons d'abord indiqué l'emplacement des obstacles. Mais nous avons ajouté un obstacle imprévu.
We first indicated the placement of the obstacles to him. But we added an extra one.

Voilà, c'est parti. Ca a l'air facile. Il évite bien les obstacles. Mais que va-t-il se passer avec celui que nous avons ajouté en secret?
And we're off. It looks easy. He handily avoids the obstacles. But what will happen with the one we secretly added?

Eh oui! Il sait exactement quand s'arrêter, même sans voir l'obstacle.
And yes! He knows exactly where to stop, even without seeing the obstacle.

La Prius a un système pré-crash qui détecte les obstacles.
The Prius has a pre-crash system that detects obstacles.

Ce système tend automatiquement les ceintures de sécurité, ralentit la voiture, et émet un signal audio qui vous avertit de l'urgence de freiner.
This system automatically tightens seatbelts, slows down the vehicle, and emits an audio signal that alerts you to the urgent need to brake.

Parce qu'on est jamais à l'abri d'un imprévu.
Because we're never safe from the unpredictable.

La Prius anticipe tout pour vous.
The Prius anticipates everything for you.

Testez-la vous-même ou invitez un ami à le faire.
Test drive one yourself or invite a friend to.

Pour chaque essai, Toyota versera 10€ au WWF.
For every test drive, Toyota will donate 10 euros to WWF. (editor's note: not the wrestling one

Vous y gagnez, la nature aussi.
You win, and so does the planet.

 

Stability control has, by the NHTSA if I'm not mistaken, been so effective they believe that it could be responsible for a 50% reduction in fatal accidents.

These new safety systems hold a lot of promise. The main problem with them is they can breed a false sense of security such that you drive worse. I won't lie, when I am in the Prius knowing it has stability control I do drive it a little more aggressively than I otherwise should in snow. Ditto in a car with ABS. I know I shouldn't.

 

Most Prius V drivers have never encountered a circumstance in which the PCS was activated. I'm not even sure PCS works and may never know, given my reluctance to drive into empty boxes or French manakins. I think the lack of experience with PCS among V drivers answers the question about whether people are relying on the invisible technology, rather than good driving practices, to stop their cars.

 

So it doesn't really say it directly, but apparently the PCS detects the obstacle, gives the alert, and the driver brakes immediately. If he didn't brake, then the PCS would brake for him, but not in time to completely stop. At least that's my best guess given the evidence presented.

 

After seeing all the different videos of the PCS, I must say that Toyota should make the audible warnings different for each type of warning. They all sound the same. When a warning sounds, are you going to look at the dash to see what kind of warning it is? The traction control, VSC, DRCC and PCS all sound the same. With lost traction and VSC warnings, the driver might want to look at the car's surroundings to make sure s/he is not skidding side ways toward a telephone pole. With DRCC, the driver might wanna look to the lanes next to him to see the vehicles cutting in front of him. With PCS, the driver can just look in front of the car. If the audible warnings sounding the same, the driver is lost and wont know where to look and make the right action whether it'd be bracing for side impact, frontal impact, or slamming on the brakes.

 

The thing about these beeps is that when, for example, stability control goes on I'm like "OMG WHAT IS THAT!?!?".

Anyway, i swear I read something substantive about people driving more aggressively when given systems that make them less prone to an accident. I am not saying it is a net wash, but it must make a difference. When the ABS on my van was out this winter I was noticeably more cautious than I would have been otherwise.