Most drivers have heard of the term brake check. That is when the vehicle in front of you brakes sharply to warn you not to follow them so closely. These types of incidents have lead to road rage. But just because the vehicle in front of you suddenly braked sharply doesn't mean they were brake checking you or trying to incite road rage.
Vehicle crash avoidance systems come in different configurations for passenger and commercial vehicles. Knowing how theses systems work can help you avoid a collision even if you don't have one on your vehicle. In short crash avoidance systems detect when you are coming too close to something that could cause a collision. They can stop you from rear ending a vehicle or hitting a vehicle that suddenly comes in your path or they can prevent you from backing into someone or something that is behind you. These systems can also warn you if a vehicle or object comes up on your side or if your vehicle is crossing over the lane stripes.
The one thing that isn't talked about much is the false warnings. If you are traveling behind a vehicle closely, and the vehicle in front of your has a crash avoidance system that detects a real or false object in front of it, that vehicle may brake suddenly in front of you. If you are traveling too close you could rear end that vehicle. Rear traveling distance behind vehicles should be increased knowing that these systems are out there in vehicles.
As with anything, nothing is 100%, but knowing is half the battle. Ride safe.
She was still able to hit the "simulated" car. These systems will provide a false sense of security for drivers and will probably allow more accidents to happen as drivers, who are as impaired by their phones as they are by alcohol, believe the vehicle will "take care of it" for them.