Re: Speculation
> I can't actually see what lorry drivers are up to in their cabs, but rarely a day goes by when I don't see at least a few who wander a foot or two into the hard shoulder at 56mph
There are a number of valid reasons why that happens, such as sidewinds, inertia, load shifting (shouldn't happen!), fatigue (shouldn't happen either!) and that lorries are not that easy to drive. I do have an HGV licence, and a bit of experience driving heavy vehicles. The occasional straying slightly into the hard shoulder should not be too much of a cause for concern, in principle.
> Although I'm just guessing,
Yup, exactly.
> I wonder how many multi-vehicle pile-ups include drivers on cruise control who don't react quickly enough because that part of driving had been "taken over" by the car
Adaptive cruise control helps prevent that, as it slows down to keep a minimum distance from the car in front, and will emergency brake if necessary. If you haven't got access to a car with ACC, try searching YouTube for some explanatory videos.
The other good thing, in my experience, is that drivers using ACC are much less likely to tailgate other vehicles (which *is* a major cause of pileups).
> As I've said in other posts, partial abrogation of driving responsibility to the cars systems
There is no such thing. The responsibility rests squarely and solely with the driver.
Again, as I understand you are purely guessing, no? I have some experience as my own vehicle has many of these so-called assistive technologies. I cannot judge from my own driving as I have advanced driver training (vocational licences, emergency services, and military--which makes me more aware although not necessarily better), but observing other drivers what I have seen is that, if they have been properly briefed on the aforementioned technologies beforehand, their driving becomes generally more sedated and attentive. However, in either case we are just drawing conclusions without sufficient evidence. Time will tell, I guess.