Every where I have driven so far (except limited access/Interstate's) the speed has been limited to 5mph over the posted speed limit. Today I was on a 4 lane road about 25 miles north west of ATL (so still semi urban) and hit Autopilot and it took off and scared me as it keep accelerating. Looked down and the speed was set to 80mph in a 45mph zone. I immediately dialed back the speed and then thought to take a pic (also a car in front slowed me). However you can clearly see the posted speed is 45mph and I'm set/going 58mph. Also see is pic of the spot it happened. So is the limit supposed to be 5mph above or for some reason are some allowed to be FULL (90mph???) speed?
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90mph AutoPilot on a 45mph road (pics)
- Thread starter JulienW
- Start date
Tam
Well-Known Member
Autopilot is still not perfected so I just have to learn what work and what don't and take precautions since I got it in 2017.
It'll get better so that robotaxi will be without drivers in future.
Tam
Well-Known Member
In theory, as we can read from the manual, it's only for "limited-access roads" with on-ramps and off-ramps and No intersections allowed and No left turn center lane allowed.
But so far, there have been 2 fatal autopilot accidents on highways with intersections and left turn center lane where trucks made a left turn in front of those 2 Tesla cars.
NHTSA criticized Tesla for not strictly enforcing the parameter "limited-access roads" by geofencing it.
I, on the other hand, don't like the idea of geofencing Autopilot because I know how to change speed, brake, and steer even when I use Autopilot.
But this is not even an issue on only autopilot -- it's TACC, which is on a vast array of cars.
What usually happens is that the map data shows a tiny section at 90mph and then a reasonable speed limit. NoA or AutoSteer puts hard limits on speed and tracks the changes in the firmware rev I have -- you cannot make it go more than X km/H over the limit in the EU-- but TACC does not adjust when the speed limit lowers (unless you press the speed limit icon yourself).
I'm puzzled that here AutoSteer seems to ignore the limit, but it may also be a EU vs US difference (i.e. a change of behaviour dictated by the desire to comply with the UN autonomous driving regulations).
What usually happens is that the map data shows a tiny section at 90mph and then a reasonable speed limit. NoA or AutoSteer puts hard limits on speed and tracks the changes in the firmware rev I have -- you cannot make it go more than X km/H over the limit in the EU-- but TACC does not adjust when the speed limit lowers (unless you press the speed limit icon yourself).
I'm puzzled that here AutoSteer seems to ignore the limit, but it may also be a EU vs US difference (i.e. a change of behaviour dictated by the desire to comply with the UN autonomous driving regulations).
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As you can see by the pic this is a very accessible road in a reasonably congested area. I have been on some other divided 4 lanes that are full access and was limited to >5mph. I would LOVE to see it upped to 10mph since at 5mph you are often a "granny' in the way. Of course we will probably see that shortly after it can do the neural net curves and road ahead predictability that was shown. Maybe early next year.
Tam
Well-Known Member
Autopilot or just TACC is not perfect.
Sometimes the road is posted as 70MPH and it thinks the limit is 55MPH.
Other times the posted sign is 55MPH and it thinks the limit is 65MPH.
And of course, in a parking lot, the speed should be 5 MPH and I could repeatedly replicate that the TACC would blast my car to what it thinks as a 70MPH zone as displayed on its white icon on instrument clusters!
There have been so many imperfections since 2017 when I first used it. So many to list. I just have to make the most of what I have because this is still beta.
Nevertheless, even with all the shortfalls, I can't live without Autopilot. It's a blast!
Tap the brake and start over. It’s not like it floors it. Standard cruise control on any car can do the same. Driver in control.
Bill Foster
I'm going home!
Tam
Well-Known Member
Of course! It's beta. It's not finished yet! There's still a long way to go.
As @brkaus mentioned, the system is currently relying on the database. It's only as good as its database.
It's possible to manually fix the database but I am not sure whether it's the priority for Tesla because it is trying to get the TeslaVision up and running.
If you are that concerned, just log into your Tesla Account and send a note to Tesla.
If there are enough complaints they might implement a fix including geofencing and making sure your autopilot is disabled in that location.
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Thank god, it's by design. There are plenty of roads were the speed limit is very low but the flow of traffic is very fast.
This seems like a well thought out and appropriate time to pick up your phone and start taking pics.
AlanSubie4Life
Efficiency Obsessed Member
Might not entirely fix this issue (since it thought the limit was 80mph in a 45mph, you'd need a 35mph offset), but you can set your speed offset in Speed Assist to a larger negative value which would have limited the speed significantly. (I don't remember how negative it can go - I have mine set to at least -15mph.)
"When Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is available but is not actively cruising at a specified set speed, the touchscreen displays a gray speedometer icon below your current driving speed. The number shown in gray is your current driving speed, or the speed limit that is being determined by Speed Assist (see Controlling Speed Assist on page 93), whichever is greater. If you engage Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, this is the cruising speed that will be set."
So if you add a negative offset to the speed assist, it will tend to use a lower set speed, and the larger the offset, the more likely it is to be lower than your current speed. So you'll rarely have a problem where it speeds up when you engage cruise.
Tam
Well-Known Member
Here's a picture of the system thinks that it's a 70MPH zone in a parking lot and the TACC (cruise control in grey) is ready to set off the speed limit of 70MPH from the white icon on the right:
As long as I know how to apply brakes, I don't see any problem in using current unfinished Autopilot. It will get better but in the meantime, the work is not done just yet as it's still in beta.
