In my view we ought not to even need a TOWS, but there it is. Aside from the human factors involved, we might broach the question as to why these systems have indeed actually grown more involved and "active". Why is that?, one wonders...
Good discussion. I wonder if there are any good links or other pointers to actual studies about the general effectiveness of safety enhancement systems [of which TOWS is one example], vs. cultivating safe attitudes.
I vaguely recall a conclusion that a safety system which is visibly advertised and promoted will in fact not add to safety that much, because operators tend to take more risks or act more sloppily in the belief that the safety system will save them from any mistakes. Whereas a safety system that just is there in the background without any advertising, will have a real positive effect, basically because operators are not aware of it and thus do not rely on its capability to save them from trouble. As examples from the road traffic sector we have ABS brakes in the former category and ESC (ESP) in the latter.