Oh, and L5 absolutely means it can drive through a blizzard.
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Oh, and L5 absolutely means it can drive through a blizzard.
thefortunes
Active Member
Ignore it - he's just "disagreeing" with anyone who drives in a blizzard/whiteout since he apparently has never seen it. Pretty typical day in the winter here.
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voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
We have had plenty of serious snow storms in Colorado where roads remained open, definitely 6+ inches of snow and near whiteout conditions. They have occasionally asked that people not go out unless it's truly necessary, but apparently there are thousands of people that feel that getting to their work is critical enough to risk it.
You can certainly have a white out with light blowing snow with less than 2 inches of accumulation.
There's really not that much additional risk with proper equipment. Additional risk is from some doorknob that decided to take his RWD X6 with summer tires out on the road, cuz you know, it's an SUV. Roads should only close when there isn't enough plow capacity to keep well equipped cars from getting high-centered and stuck.
Blizzards are common to drive though, tornadoes hurricanes and tsunamis are not I'll give you that.
thefortunes
Active Member
In a similar manner as cruise control (which you shouldn't use on slippery roads), you most likely shouldn't activate autopilot in a snowstorm.
Could it be better than humans in the snow - possibly, but I don't see that as possible in it's current iterations.
Regarding AWD vs RWD - there are plenty of threads on that. I posted a video a while back of a test that was run comparing RWD and AWD with various tires. From worst to best in the snow/ice:
RWD with summer tires
AWD with summer tires
RWD with all-season tires
AWD with all-season tires
RWD with winter tires
AWD with winter tires
See a trend? It is the tires that are really the most important factor, as anyone who runs winter tires will tell you.
It is my opinion that AWD isn't necessary, but I may get it on our next vehicle anyway for the additional performance and safety.
Living in Wisconsin, I put winter tires on both my Teslas and they do great in the snow. My RWD Roadster is actually better than my RWD S.
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JeffK
Well-Known Member
Autonomous snowplows... increased road safety or horrifying death machines?
You shouldn't use cruise control because it's a dumb system that just keeps a foot on the throttle. It's not an autonomous system that advertises "full self driving", and further more "with a factor of safety exceeding humans by 2", in which case unless your name is Colin McRae, you should absolutely turn on autopilot for your additional safety.
Not that I think this will actually be true of AP 2.x, I don't.
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thefortunes
Active Member
rhumbliner
Member
Perhaps this is a bit off topic, but I teach skiing for a living, drive 12 miles each way to / from the resort, and I'll take the safety of a mountain during a snow storm over a busy highway any day. I think you were making a valid point about driving in snow, but you picked a poor comparison.
Well the mountain is like jumping into a giant pillow in a good storm, so not a great comparison. But on a normal day, how many people per day come down the mountain in a rescue toboggan? I've had my share of injuries as well as most people I know.
you've been driving in FLA too long, up in snow country many people are fairly adept at driving in blizzard like conditions. unless the roads are impassable they aren't closed. travel at your own risk
I had my rollover in less than blizzard conditions. It was blowing snow, obscuring the markings on the highway. I said to myself "You're making a mistake, you're too far over" and next thing I realized I was rolling over. I could feel the gravity pulling on my hair, it was pitch black, and I was kind of surprised at how quiet it was. RCMP said later he'd take my statement but he had too many other accidents to deal with.
I just remember skiing at Alpine Meadows here in California back in the early 1980's during a white-out blizzard. I can't imagine trying to drive in a storm where I couldn't see the tips of my own skis. I don't recall the bus trip home, but remember hearing the next day that an avalanche came down that same mountain after we left and took out the lodge, killing several.
All that said, couldn't a properly implemented set of autopilot sensors assist (not replace) the driver in really bad conditions? I'm thinking radar and other sensors to see where other cars are, where the snow banks are at the side of the road, etc? Great use for a HUD / augmented reality display, or even on just the center console screen. This would be for slow travel, not flying down the interstate with no visibility.
All that said, couldn't a properly implemented set of autopilot sensors assist (not replace) the driver in really bad conditions? I'm thinking radar and other sensors to see where other cars are, where the snow banks are at the side of the road, etc? Great use for a HUD / augmented reality display, or even on just the center console screen. This would be for slow travel, not flying down the interstate with no visibility.
I wouldn't ride in a car in the snow if it was being driven by a driver from California. Why would I ride in a car the snow being driven by an Autopilot system designed by engineer in California?
I wouldn't drive in the snow in a car driven by me, either. But given the fleet-wide machine learning that's behind the Auto Pilot system, and all the (presumably safe) drivers that "learned" it ahead of me, turning on Auto Pilot would mean I don't have to.I wouldn't ride in a car in the snow if it was being driven by a driver from California. Why would I ride in a car the snow being driven by an Autopilot system designed by engineer in California?
