I like autopilot especially while in the carpool lane with my HOV stickers going with the flow of traffic. This past week I had an incident which really ticked me off. While on autopilot, centered in the lane, a self-entitled POS motorcyclist flicked my passenger side view mirror forward with his hand and drove by as he flipped me off. The speed of traffic was about 35-40 mph and all lanes were rather full. I don't really feel the need to grab the wheel every time to move over when a motorcycle comes by as it is their responsibility to adjust for the traffic. I know because I used to split lanes on my Harley. Has anyone else had this negative experience with a Biker while on autopilot? Does everyone make an effort take autosteer off and move over to accommodate them? Just wondering...
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Autopilot and Lane Splitters
- Thread starter mp0i
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- Autopilot lane splitters
This is one of the drawbacks of autopilot. There has been a suggestion made that a gentle nudge either left or right should make the autopilot favour a lane side rather than sitting in the centre. I would certainly prefer this as it would be more accommodating for motorcyclists. It would also be better in certain corners where I would prefer to hug the white lines or alternatively avoid oncoming traffic.
If I see them early enough and there's a car in the adjacent lane, I move over. I ride a motorcycle as well and a little courtesy goes a long way. I'd never intentionally strike someone's car for not moving over, though.
IMO if a motorcycle is lane splitting it is their responsibility to find space, not a car's to make space.
I hate entitled bikers who feel like cars should part like the ****ing red sea to let them through.
I hate entitled bikers who feel like cars should part like the ****ing red sea to let them through.
ahkahn
Active Member
1000000000% agree. I'm a fairly aggressive driver, so had a biker done that to me Autopilot would have been immediately disabled and the poor soul would have had to change his underwear when I was finished with him.
Sandollars
I bleed Cardinal
The problem is the law will not see it your way if you happen to be involved in an accident with a bike that is lane splitting. You'd better be using driving cameras or your insurance company will be hating life.
When a bike goes down, the rider gets significantly hurt 97 out 100 times which makes the accident much more litigious than a bent fender even on a Tesla.
I ride a Harley and I don't condone the attitude or riding method you describe above. I can tell you with certainty that anyone who has been riding a long time AND has an IQ higher than room temperature (That may be an oxymoron...
) does NOT ride as you describe above. I have split lanes no more than 20 times in the last 10 years and only when traffic is dead stopped and I pass no more than 10 over the traffic. It's the Squids (Squirrely and ignorant kids) that haven't figured out they are driving on a belt of 10 grit sandpaper spinning at 60 miles per hour. Survival of the fittest often comes into play and a few get selected to be removed from the gene pool in the process.I suppose we could just outlaw bikes? Or worse: Require all bikers to wear airbag clothing.... Of course the latter suggestion is in direct conflict with Darwins Law....
-mike drop-
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I don't normally get the time. Usually I am sitting in very slow/stopped traffic and the lane splitter will come blasting up at 60-70mph. You get about 1 second of time to hear him coming then he is already past. The rare occasion when one is going slow through the lane split, I will disable and move over.
Xminus6
Member
As someone who has split lanes for literally hundreds of miles, the idea of hitting a car never occurred to me. I had someone do it to me a few months ago on his stupid Harley because I was on AutoPilot. If you're going to ride a bike that's four feet wide then you need to accommodate the traffic, not the other way around.
Lol ok internet tough guy. By the time you realized what happened he’d have been past you and you’d sit there angrily being traffic.
I usually try to break autopilot and move to the left as a courtesy. I have to touch the steering wheel every 20 seconds anyways and I am a rider myself and I always do appreciate it when others do the same.
Hitting mirrors and such are just wrong. Not the right way to handle things for sure. A little forgiveness and kindness can go a long way.
And that’s for rider and driver.
Hitting mirrors and such are just wrong. Not the right way to handle things for sure. A little forgiveness and kindness can go a long way.
And that’s for rider and driver.
.jg.
Member
Lane splitting is illegal in most US states. It is legal in California but the onus is on the motorcycle rider to prove that it was safe to perform the manoeuvre and that the other road user instigated any collision e.g. lane change with indicating.
Known as lane filtering in the UK, it is legal in the UK and most of Europe - but not in some circumstances e.g. near a pedestrian crossing.
NikeWings
Active Member
This has been a concern in CA since AP was first rolled out, but nonetheless you really want to risk a life over principle?
What about all the times AP doesn't center or unexpectedly jerks or drifts ? AP is not perfect yet anyway so just being on AP doesn't mean we've got the right of way. He didn't need to hit your mirror but perhaps he's had his share of close calls and he was educating you.......which of course you don't need.
Yep there are some crazy biker dudes, but most provide a respectable wave for giving them room. Just move aside, what's the big deal, a little first world AP inconvenience? LMAO
What about all the times AP doesn't center or unexpectedly jerks or drifts ? AP is not perfect yet anyway so just being on AP doesn't mean we've got the right of way. He didn't need to hit your mirror but perhaps he's had his share of close calls and he was educating you.......which of course you don't need.
Yep there are some crazy biker dudes, but most provide a respectable wave for giving them room. Just move aside, what's the big deal, a little first world AP inconvenience? LMAO
ahkahn
Active Member
I live in California...I always watch my mirrors for organ donors splitting lanes and I watch them pass....guy breaks my mirror I'll dump his bike before he can pass me.
Thanks for the responses. I generally provide room for two wheelers but this specific instance really disappointed me and caught me off guard. I wanted to get a feel for this behavior from my fellow Tesla drivers. Anyway, I pulled off the I-5 (San Diego Co. by Encinitas) and reset my passenger mirror which was fortunately not broken. Moving forward maybe I’ll get a dash cam to catch a plate. Oh well....Thanks again.
I think this is a symptom of a larger problem with AP. It ignores all sorts of on road behavior by other drivers that a conscientious driver would accommodate. A bigger example is that AP is not aware of other cars' turn signals, and therefore will not slow down to let another car merge in.
Sandollars
I bleed Cardinal
Having witnessed second hand 3 separate cases, I respectfully disagree with your statement.
A goodly number of the inhabitants of this state (CA) are sue-happy and there is plenty of precedent to back up my earlier post. There are lawyers that make their entire living litigating (or threatening to litigate) motorcycle injuries.
It is easy to cite the law, but harder to defend yourself from it when others failed under the same scenarios in the past.
Sometimes it's simply a matter of Economics: Is it cheaper to pay out or is it cheaper to litigate?
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