If I pull the handbrake on my car, I expect handbrake operations. I do not expect the window to open or close based
on the state of the handbrake.
Problem here is that I think we're thinking of two different situations. I'm thinking of ads playing at inopportune moments, I think you're thinking of media players (maybe pandora or spotify) playing in the background.
I'm going to alter your metaphor slightly, and say that the handbrake is the mute functionality (it fits better anyway). Your complaint is that if you're on the highway going 70mph, you don't want to accidentally hit the handbrake. Fair enough.
I'm saying that if I'm rolling down a hill towards a lake, I want everything from turn-indicators to windshield wiper controls to turn into a handbrake and flash red at me.
You're not wrong that it should probably be in settings, but simply getting rid of it by default as has been suggested is a badly engineered solution.