Autopilot during rush hour traffic .... a parting of the seas occurs .....

[chronopc]

I also noticed fast acceleration when a gap appears during stop and go traffic. It really freaked me out the first time I experienced it but I notice EAP does respond appropriately if a car in another lane cuts in. I'll try to reduce the max speed and see if it affects the sudden acceleration. I looked at the speed when this occurs and it's not really that fast. I think it feels a lot faster than it really is just because it's unexpected.

 

[DR61]

Don't have the Model 3 yet, but our 2017 Volvo with adaptive cruise has a similar too-rapid speedup response in the situation described. I try to remember to set cruise speed down to approximate average speed of traffic, not speed limit.

 

[Phrixotrichus]

I have never driven a car with TACC that doesn`t do that.
Never set a max velocity that`s way above what`s actually viable if you don`t want to get into close quarter combat with crossing cars.

 

[Devanish]

It's always done this for me on AP1. It's one of the most common reasons you have to stay alert. Any time you see that car in front of you change lanes, you have to be very careful. I almost always just reflexively disengage AP nowadays when I see it happening.

This is yet another reason why I refuse to pay $5000 to beta test AP. I already have to stay alert, Telsa should pay US to use AP.

 

[Krugerrand]

accelerating and then having to immediately regen is a process control failure. Nothing to do with a single automated car in a sea or manual cars. EVs are perfectly capable of accelerating gently, and there's no need for a process controller to have to put on the brakes because of overshooting the set point.

No. It regens right away because it a) sees a new vehicle ahead that is traveling slower and b) it has to obey the distance setting

Watch the speed display, it NEVER goes faster than your preset, so clearly AP is obeying a) and b).

 

[BozieBeMe2]

This. I don't get how its efficient to slam on the accelerator to get up to the set speed from stop & go traffic. It should accelerate gently and conserve battery. Also, Mr. Musk is always saying how AP is much safer, this is not safe driving behavior. So its unsafe and inefficient in my mind.

When AP accelerated slowly to get back up to speed, people complained it was too slow to resume. Now, they are complaining is too fast. The car does not have the capability to discern if it is on an open road, other than the front forward facing radar. You, on the other hand, can look around. So, as AI gets better and cross talk with other cars is implemented, the car will get smarter. Right now, You will have to input some feed back and help the system, help you.

 

[colettimj]

I think one of the limitations of AP is that it lacks context / situational awareness. A human driver can assess why the lane is open and if it is safe to accelerate.

I wonder if Tesla could moderate the initial acceleration rate if the car was just in a jam or if it detects slow traffic in neighboring lanes?

 

[eSpiritIV]

Okay, I'm driving in bumper to bumper traffic with autopilot activated. We are moving at 25 to 35mph and the autopilot max is 70mph (hwy speed limit). All is good. Cars are all packed in. Then, for some reason, cars in front of me move to different lanes and there is a huge open passage for me. I'm talking 200 to 300 feet completely clear for me with cars stopped on both sides. My car pretty much just wants to accelerate to the max speed. Holy buckets. This is not safe. Every car on either side is eyeing this newly cleared lane and wants to jump in. Not only that, but these cars don't realize how fast I'm moving down that newly freed up lane. Well, I disabled autopilot for that little stint and slowly moved up to allow those on either side to jump in if so desired.

I'm curious if others have seen this behavior? Slow car in front moves out of the way and M3 just jams on that accelerator to get to speed. Seems like it should eventually take into account the traffic on either side to decide how fast to ramp up. It's just not safe to go so fast relative to cars on either side.

I am pretty sure that since you are in control of the car you should have set the AP at max 40 mph if you were worried. Yes a car could pull in front of you, but it would be the same risk if you as a human driver were to speed up to 70mph thinking everyone is watching out for you.

Once Autonomous features are ready, the car will take more info in account, such as speed of other AP drivers communicating, traffic conditions, and other learned aspects that you as a seasoned driver have realized "may" not be safe....though there are idiots who drive 60mph flying by people all the time who are creeping along.

 

[Cheburashka]

I have never driven a car with TACC that doesn`t do that.
Never set a max velocity that`s way above what`s actually viable if you don`t want to get into close quarter combat with crossing cars.

Right. My 10-year old car does this too, but you'd think that with all the cameras, tech, and computational power in the M3 it should be able to monitor surrounding traffic conditions and tell that there are stopped cars further ahead and not slam the throttle.

 

[malcolm]

This is exactly the way TACC works on my Prius. That is the nature of all TACC. Consequently, I NEVER activate TACC in rush hour, stop and go traffic unless it is set for something like 25 mph, that is just begging for a serious accident!

Clearly, "Traffic Aware" is an unfortunate label. "Lane Aware CC" or "Lane Biased CC" would be be more accurate.

 

[RangerRick]

The driver sets the max speed. AP doesn’t autonomously choose its top speed.

What I mean is, by default, the "max" speed when TACC and AutoPilot is off is the speed of the road I'm on. So if I'm on a highway that's stopped and turn on autopilot so I can let it deal with the stop & go traffic then it will enable with my max speed set to 70 or whatever. It is, of course, on me to pay attention to that and adjust it, but I can totally see cases where you would turn it on without thinking about the fact it will accelerate heavily if the traffic you're in finally opens up and creates space.

Perhaps it would be a useful enhancement to make TACC/AutoPilot not engage, engage differently, or beep a warning if your current speed while enabling is wildly different from the posted speed.

 

[hmmm]

This x 1000.

AP works exactly how it’s supposed to and how you (OP) have it set. Simply turn down max speed in this type of situation until traffic clears.

Yeah, that.

 

[T34ME]

Clearly, "Traffic Aware" is an unfortunate label. "Lane Aware CC" or "Lane Biased CC" would be be more accurate.

I am not confused by the meaning of Traffic Aware Cruise Control or the meaning of Enhanced Auto Pilot. Neither are Full Self Driving equivalents. They are merely aids to a fully engaged driver

 

[mtndrew1]

The most recent firmware update has dramatically improved this condition on my car. It used to be quite jarring in its attempt to close a new gap.

 

[LostInSpace]

The driver sets the max speed. AP doesn’t autonomously choose its top speed.

uhm, AP sets it based on the speed limit of the hwy. I understand all the "work arounds." They all make sense. dialing in the speed based on the traffic. I love AP. Don't get me wrong. I just found this situation will eventually need to get corrected such that the max speed isn't played with and it will be more aware of the situation and not just accelerate at crazy Tesla rates ... but at careful rates.

Be sure I'll be using the work-arounds some have suggested for now!

 

[pjoseph]

Yes, i too am very conservative with the set speed especially with the unpredictable drivers in our lovely city. Think Texas-sized trucks mixed in with slow drivers on Merc / Lexus and the hipsters on their Subaru

i then accelerate as needed (and get the popup that Regen braking will not work during that time).

Love EAP & Auto-steer in both stop-n-go city driving and on the open highway.. Saving graces of a car which i personally consider a bit too pretentious (mainly because it is lipstick red and has a dominant presence on the road).

 

[malcolm]

I am not confused by the meaning of Traffic Aware Cruise Control or the meaning of Enhanced Auto Pilot. Neither are Full Self Driving equivalents. They are merely aids to a fully engaged driver

I wasn't trying to suggest that you were, just speculating out loud that people's general assumptions about TACC miss your insight.

I should have started my first post with a +1 rather than the word "clearly"

 

[privater]

Well, I guess Tesla in future need to add a psychological questionnaire for each driver:
Defensive?
Aggressive?
Road rage?
Then matching with difference Autopilot personalities.

 

[BigMskiman]

I'm 2yrs into AP driving now (residential, fwy and traffic in both), and we can only do daily what the software provides and has progressed to.

I'm "foot free" a lot, left hand adjusting my separation and set speed very actively (so speed-ups aren't gonna happen), while steering help happens, right hand always on da wheel. This, forces me to be aware of surroundings and my car speed/separation targets and lane centering. I'm able to disengage TACC very close to what is needed for regen to bring me to stops. In summary, I'm not complaining or suggesting any software improvements at the moment, just that YOU can be safer using what we have, rather than what we do not have.

old |v2018.18.2|AP2,PUP|
new |v2018.19.2|AP2,PUP|

 

[Dana1]

Okay, I'm driving in bumper to bumper traffic with autopilot activated. We are moving at 25 to 35mph and the autopilot max is 70mph (hwy speed limit). All is good. Cars are all packed in. Then, for some reason, cars in front of me move to different lanes and there is a huge open passage for me. I'm talking 200 to 300 feet completely clear for me with cars stopped on both sides. My car pretty much just wants to accelerate to the max speed. Holy buckets. This is not safe. Every car on either side is eyeing this newly cleared lane and wants to jump in. Not only that, but these cars don't realize how fast I'm moving down that newly freed up lane. Well, I disabled autopilot for that little stint and slowly moved up to allow those on either side to jump in if so desired.

I'm curious if others have seen this behavior? Slow car in front moves out of the way and M3 just jams on that accelerator to get to speed. Seems like it should eventually take into account the traffic on either side to decide how fast to ramp up. It's just not safe to go so fast relative to cars on either side.

My adaptive cruise control does this on my non Tesla car. It can be minimized if following distance is increased but that has issues, too.