Curiosity -- Anyone use AP1 on the Jamaicaway?

[David29]

We were driving into Boston for a dinner on Friday night, and took the Jamaicaway. I have often wondered how AP would work on it. The curves are tight and the lanes are narrow, headways (distance between cars) are often short. Based upon my 4 years of driving with AP1, I have never tried it on this road, for fear that it would not handle the curves well enough.

If you do not know it, the Jamaicaway is a parkway that winds along Jamaica Pond in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. It has a residential neighborhood on one side and the pond and surrounding woods on the other. There are several stop lights, cross streets, and crosswalks. When built, it was restricted to "pleasure vehicles only," but I think trucks and buses can use it now. It is relatively narrow, and hilly, and quite curvy, and has had a few spectacular crashes over the years. It is used heavily in commuting hours as well as on off-peak times. I have been driving it all my adult life, and it requires full attention at all times.

So I am curious if anyone else has tried it. Particularly with AP1, but also AP2.

 

[Farmer]

The older I get the more that road scares me and I've been driving it off and on for 40 years now. Given the nature of the road so well described by you and the modern traffic, I'm surprised that there aren't more wild head-on crashes than there are.

 

[EdA]

You forgot to mention the rotaries...

 

[radiod77]

It used to be a four lane road, Don't know if it still is. And it has nice sturdy trees six inches from the road surface.

 

[DrDabbles]

I have not, but I also rarely use AP on 93 or 95 anywhere near the city. I tried AP 2.5 on Sturrow once and learned just how bad it can behave, and haven't thought it was a good idea to try again since.

The system is way too immature to think of trusting on surface streets like these.

 

[David29]

It used to be a four lane road, Don't know if it still is. And it has nice sturdy trees six inches from the road surface.

Correct on both counts. Well, the six inches might be a little exaggerated....

 

[David29]

You forgot to mention the rotaries...

Indeed, I did! But I do not think anyone yet claims that AP is capable of navigating a rotary....I definitely would not try it!

 

[glide]

We were driving into Boston for a dinner on Friday night, and took the Jamaicaway. I have often wondered how AP would work on it. The curves are tight and the lanes are narrow, headways (distance between cars) are often short. Based upon my 4 years of driving with AP1, I have never tried it on this road, for fear that it would not handle the curves well enough.

If you do not know it, the Jamaicaway is a parkway that winds along Jamaica Pond in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. It has a residential neighborhood on one side and the pond and surrounding woods on the other. There are several stop lights, cross streets, and crosswalks. When built, it was restricted to "pleasure vehicles only," but I think trucks and buses can use it now. It is relatively narrow, and hilly, and quite curvy, and has had a few spectacular crashes over the years. It is used heavily in commuting hours as well as on off-peak times. I have been driving it all my adult life, and it requires full attention at all times.

So I am curious if anyone else has tried it. Particularly with AP1, but also AP2.

You know you can turn it on and be prepared to take control of the vehicle, right?

 

[David29]

You know you can turn it on and be prepared to take control of the vehicle, right?

Oh yes, and have done so many times on other roads. But I have also experienced situations in which AP operated with a lack of smoothness, especially when it operates near its limits. I have seen it fail to stay within the lines on sharp curves. So I have been hesitant to try it on such a curving road, for fear of reacting too slow and getting into trouble (especially with opposing traffic), or over-reacting as a "nervous Nelly." Either one would make my spouse very nervous, so I would not try it with her in the car in any case.
Anyway, just looking to find out if anyone else has experience. Seems to me this would be an "acid text" for the self-steering, but might be too tough for it.