Does Autopilot reduce road rage?

[John Stuckey]

Just finished a Dayton to ABQ round trip. Between AP and cruise control set at 7 we had a pleasant trip at speed limit speeds. We ended each day relaxed and free of any sore places like shoulders. I go the speed limit and do not have any concerns about police officers. I like to get to the speed limit quickly (P90DL) but too much stress looking out for nuts and cops! As for anger, an otherwise pleasant journey always helps in dealing with the nuts.

 

[JeffS]

In so many things in life, the utmost respect goes to those who can by brute force, but don't. In a person to person confrontation... The 300lb 6' 4" muscle-bound shaved head beast, that just shakes his head at the instigator, and walks away. Everyone knows the beast could...he just chose not to. So it is with a Tesla.

Meat head in a Mustang takes off limlke a bat outta hell because there is a Tesla beside him...and the Tesla doesn't bite back. Most people know the driver of the Tesla could...he (she) just chose not to.

I like that. And on the highway using AP, I enjoy watching the fray of overly stupid drivers fighting for that extra car length. I even carry my good camera now...and shoot pictures sometimes.

So yes...there is a Zen to driving in traffic on AP for me. Absolutely. I am the driver who can...in almost every situation. I just choose not to.

 

[Jouley]

Probably a little, but mostly because of TACC doing its thing, which means I don't need to hit the brakes and then accelerate back to traffic speed.

 

[T3SLA_LIFE]

Thank you all of your insightful contributions! I appreciate your time

 

[Beryl]

I keep the distance set to 7. No drama. No road rage. Peaceful. People cut in but I don't care. The car does all the hard work of adjusting speed and avoiding crazies.

So this. I enjoy the traffic because it gives me time to put on a new podcast or make a phone call. All good. Zen.

Autopilot is the next best thing to being chauffeured.

In so many things in life, the utmost respect goes to those who can by brute force, but don't. In a person to person confrontation... The 300lb 6' 4" muscle-bound shaved head beast, that just shakes his head at the instigator, and walks away.

True. What makes me laugh is when someone is riding my bumper for a stretch on the road when I'm driving in one of the rightmost lanes. As if that changes anything... I'm thinking, "do you really have an extra $10K to pay me for the depreciation caused by damaging my vehicle?"

 

[RDoc]

Both my wife and I find that being able to put the car on AP completely changes our attitude towards highway stop and go traffic. Personally, while I'm not subject to road rage, I HATE stop and go when I'm driving, but with AP I don't mind it at all.

 

[slevit1md]

Absolutely, makes a big difference for me.

 

[Reeler]

Road rage has been replaced by autopilot rage. When the car wants to dart off the road or drift into a truck you are passing, or refuses to work in rain or snow . . . I get autopilot rage.

 

[commasign]

Interesting question. I tend not to get mad in general when driving my P85D mainly because of 2 things: 1) the regen breaking allows much quicker and dynamic control of speed and position, which significantly decreases the amount of times I'm in uncomfortable or near-accident positions. What I mean is the specific spacing around other cars that would invite someone to cut me off, or the actual spacing while I'm being cut off. For example, if I'm in process of being cut off, just easing off the accelerator will introduce appropriate spacing such that I'm no longer feeling in danger and therefore not feeling annoyed. This is something an ICE car can't do. 2) the instant silent torque means I can literally teleport away to avoid trouble. Any potential gap in front of me that would be inviting for someone to cut me off, I can take away in a few hundred milliseconds if I really wanted to. But again, more often than not I ease off the accelerator to make more space. On the other hand, it's almost fun merging against someone intent on not letting me into their lane. By the time I'm finally in, I'm already 5 car lengths ahead. If someone is (trying to) tailgate me, the teleporting helps there too.

As for autopilot, yes, that reduces road rage even more. When I do get cut off and it's a close one, I'm thinking more about how good or bad autopilot handled it than what the other driver was doing.

 

[Craig9080]

Just like they have ludicrous mode for performance, I want a D-bag mode for the autopilot. Tailgating, brake stomping, cutting people off, loud music, that sort of thing.

 

[ronsbell]

For those of you that currently have Autopilot in your Model S or have test-driven Autopilot and been cut off or nearly hit by someone, is the anger/road rage that you experience gone since the car is in control and deals with it, do you still experience those same emotions just on a lesser scale, or have you experienced no change to your emotional reaction?

I still find myself annoyed with people who cut in and out of traffic because they are reckless jerks. But because autopilot usually handles such situations well, I'm partially relieved of the anxiety brought on by fear of plowing into someone's rear.

My driving anxiety comes from AP itself. AP doesn't understand that a driver in the adjacent lane with the turn lane on wants to merge so it occasionally speeds up when it would be a courtesy to slow down and permit the merge. I've also noticed that some other vehicles sit so high above the roadway (some trucks/buses) that AP sensors detect them reliably only at a distance. If these vehicles merge with my lane at close range, the front sensors, which appear to focus primarily on the roadway, may look under them rather than detecting them. I've sometimes been stopped behind a large bus at a stoplight and have seen on the AP display that the vehicle is "invisible."

AP is amazing but drivers definitely can't ignore what's going on.

 

[CHG-ON]

I've driven thousands of km's with the autopilot system by now and my impression is that it really does reduce road-rage. Now granted I was never much of an agressive driver, but I find that with the autopilot system I just generally "don't care".

Example: Guy in front of me drives with uneven speed (100-120 ish kph). Before I would have overtaken him as fast as possible. Now I just stay behind him and let the computer deal with it. Or I wait until there is room and then overtake.

Example 2: Trucks on the highway. Before I would be in the left lane waiting to get by. Now I perceive a string of trucks going 90 kph as a free ride to relaxation. Just pull in behind the last truck with the distance set to 7 and relax. This is a great strategy in rush hour friday traffic.

+1 here. I find that I am a much more relaxed and less stressed driver, whether in AP or not. I just don't feel the need to be a jerk anymore. And I am embarrassed to admit that I have been most of my driving life. Perhaps it is because the MS is such a lovely space to to spend time. Perhaps it is that my ego knows that I could fly past them faster than they could ever imagine...which I do occasionally. Perhaps it is because I am nearing sixty and simply do not care anymore.