BertL
Active Member
Very good points.I have a lot of grievances with AEB when it comes the automotive industry.
No agreed standards in terms of capabilities
No agreed testing methods in testing those capabilities
No driver education in showing us how they work in various cases.
No buyer education in terms of making sure we have a package we think we do
Lots of manufactures only included it on some special package on top of the most expensive trim so my mom didn't get it on her Mazda 3.
No way for the customer to test any of these stuff out.
The NHTSA is having car manufactures role this out, and it's an extremely critical safety. But, it seems so half way.
Disclaimer - TMC won't let me use the proper language so you'll have to add in swears where appropriate.
I'm not as concerned as some may be with personally testing any AEB changes Tesla provides as that can be a very hard for an individual consumer to do, but I AM CONCERNED being able to read more precisely how Tesla has designed (the new) AEB to operate and how that may be different than what I already expect with my MS and 7.2. Even more specifically, I want to know how AEB operates when TACC or AP are both on or off. Tesla's documentation isn't always that detailed IMHO, and lack of possible release notes where little tweaks and improvements in these sort of areas concern me, so hopefully Tesla will exceed my expectations as safety systems continue to evolve. Speculation and observations on forums like TMC or from the press is interesting, but I really do want safety system info direct from the horses mouth so-to-speak.
It was simple for me to understand how AEB may assist me when I owned one and then dual Lexus (different models) for many years. What became complex is when I sold my Lexus convertible and replaced it with a BMW, then replaced the BMW a with a MBZ, trying to keep in the back of my mind the nuances of which vehicle would only slow me to a certain MPH, where another may attempt a full stop in emergency situations. Worse for me were the last few years when I was working and on the road most weeks in all sort of "cheaper" and less-capable rentals with AEB or related systems while using variants of TACC (radar cruise control). It became impossible to keep in the back of my mind what a certain vehicle would or wouldn't do in an emergency -- even keeping it straight for those I owned. Standards would do well to help a majority. At a bare minimum, clear definition of what our MS will and won't ALWAYS do is an imperative.
My 1-day old MBZ and I were saved from a major crash a few years back because of how the combination of Distronic Plus and AEB worked to completely stop me when an idiot made a right against his/her red into an incoming string of us crossing an intersection. The sad thing is, my top-of-the line Lexus with all it's also special-ordered optional safety systems would likely not have been able to accomplish the same thing with AEB unless I had its radar cruise control engaged. It's a little difference perhaps to some, but my point is, it's a big deal for owners (that want) to understand to what degree your vehicle has your back or not when the chips are down.
My 1-day old MBZ and I were saved from a major crash a few years back because of how the combination of Distronic Plus and AEB worked to completely stop me when an idiot made a right against his/her red into an incoming string of us crossing an intersection. The sad thing is, my top-of-the line Lexus with all it's also special-ordered optional safety systems would likely not have been able to accomplish the same thing with AEB unless I had its radar cruise control engaged. It's a little difference perhaps to some, but my point is, it's a big deal for owners (that want) to understand to what degree your vehicle has your back or not when the chips are down.