Autopilot Use Recommendation

[AZ Desert Driver]

I love the way the above posters have hands-on reaction times. Further, they are aware of the surroundings and are anticipating actions of others well beyond the AP. Good job. I let my wife drive, and I notice I have different reaction times, different anticipation triggers. Perhaps thats from riding a motorcycle, where one gets trained to look for debris in the road, oil, wheel tracks, stuff blowing off flatbeds..and other situations that ICE drives become immune to. I can see how an AP driver would impose his anticipation differently than the AP program. But underlying it all is driver attentiveness.

Where I'm headed...If AP calls you back into driving mode, you have to not just grab the wheel at 3-9, but know what you are going to do with that wheel. If you have been mentally drifting, how much time does it take to assess the situation and make a safe reaction? Does this "assessment time" exceed the time to grab the wheel?

Some drivers need years to get enough experience to have good "assessment" skills. Some can react in a few seconds. A few can react instinctively and properly. I'm in awe that AP can do as much as it does now. Its a better driver than many I've been with, but not as good as me!! (snark)

 

[hacer]

... people using it extensively on their commutes, even on roads where the company does not recommend it be utilized. But can you, with a clear conscious put everyone at risk ...

I'd like to point out that autopilot can be used without increased risk (and possibly decreased risk) on un-divided roads and roads with cross traffic. You simply need to keep your hands firmly on the wheel in the normal driving position and maintain control. This means you firmly resist any inappropriate steering that AP attempts (and it will!). Doing so will shut off the auto steer each time you "correct it", then you can turn it on again. Essentially you are driving the car yourself. You are not relieved of any duties or have any greater freedom because it is in AP. Also you should explicitly turn it off when you are doing things that are totally out of its realm (like turning at an intersection), and use the brake whenever needed if the car is not already slowing on its own when you would be.

Doing this provides even more real-world AP driving "corner cases" (where it doesn't do the right thing) for Tesla engineers to use to improve the system. And if for some reason you do (unintentionally) become temporarily distracted you are probably safer for it.

 

[787steve]

"Also I'm too used to feeling the movement of the steering wheel and the feedback it gives. It's actually pretty educational to feel how the car reacts to things and adjusts the steering. That's how I noticed that the car seems to "learn" the road over time (whether the car itself or just through software updates)."

Hands always on the wheel, can't get this old dog to stop doing that...[/QUOTE]


A side note to your excellent observation about sensing how the car handles things. I have flown airliners from the wonderful old L-1011 in the 70's and 80's to the new 787 Dreamliner. And when an airliner auto lands, it uses a technique different from the technique used by any pilot. And it does so very efficiently. Usually it flares noticeably later than a human pilot would. I have auto landed a Boeing 787 IN THE SIMULATOR with 50 knots of crosswind (well above the crosswind limit), and having one of the two engines fail 500 feet above the runway elevation. The AFCS, simply puts in a little rudder and continues to a smooth landing. In fact, if the pilots weren't paying attention to the warnings, the maneuver was so smooth, I doubt that they, or their passengers would even recognize the failure. It is always interesting to ride along with the system.