Freeway chicken with AP

[EVChris]

I was driving on 580 last night in the middle lane on TACC doing around 65. A very new BMW cuts in front of me from the right, very close. People have cut me off before and I've cut people off before. Usually it's people zipping from lane to lane doing 5 to 10 mph faster. But this was like 2 or 3mph faster and really close from the side.

So my theory was that he getting his yayas playing chicken with AP cars. It happened kinda quickly and I didn't respond by jerking right or slowing down or whatever AP would have thought appropriate since I wasn't on AP.

I also think this will become a thing.

 

[Cheburashka]

Sounds like pretty typical BMW behavior honestly.

 

[luckyj]

Yes, stupidity has most definitely become a thing.

 

[roblab]

Could you pull over to the next lane right? Sounds like they're trying to tell you you're going too slow to be in the fast lane. I've never had anyone try to "prove" something, especially not BMWs. Must be an Oakland thing. I hope.

 

[EVChris]

I definitely wasn't going too slow. I was on TACC with 7 car lengths tracking the car in front of me. The BMW was in the left lane going faster than my lane was. He cut next to me and then passed and then cut into my lane comfortably ahead. He then changed into the right lane.

Honestly, I'm on TACC doing traffic speed. Maybe he made a mistake or maybe he was playing with an AP car. But I've never had anyone do that maneuver before.

 

[luckyj]

EVChris I'm really confused trying follow that updated sequence.

Are you saying that the car passed you on the lane to your left, changed into your lane, moved to the lane to your right, dropped behind you, then sped up and cut oh-so-close in front you you?

 

[EVChris]

He was passing me on the left. He s]swerved fairly close to me when we were about even and recovered. He then passed me on the left and merged into my lane normally. He then changed to the right lane. It was the swerving that unnerved me. Everything else was normal. Speeds were about 65.

Occasionally people change lanes with someone in their blindspot. The blindspot driver gets annoyed but can usually handle the situation. It happens. But this guy was passing me and he had to have seen me. That particular situation has never happened to me.

 

[xyeahtony]

sounds more like an amateur driver than anything. the majority of people don't even know what autopilot is let alone which cars would have it.

 

[jaguar36]

AP wouldn't handle the situation any differently than just TACC also.

 

[Phrixotrichus]

Seriously...no one cares if you`re driving a Tesla or a Dacia on the street and any form of TACC for any manufacturer would have braked hard there.

Its not always about Tesla..........

 

[mburnet6]

I had this situation happen a couple times right after I got my Model S. I don't know why people did it, but it did lead to me buying a dash cam to be safe.

 

[Upscaleman]

Go on youtube and watch a million or so hours of Russian dashcam footage. You will learn that people are idiots, no matter what car is next to them.

 

[Electroman]

Me thinks it is not a ‘he’ -

 

[dedicatedtek]

 

[bmah]

So my theory was that he getting his yayas playing chicken with AP cars. It happened kinda quickly and I didn't respond by jerking right or slowing down or whatever AP would have thought appropriate since I wasn't on AP.

I also think this will become a thing.

Obviously none of us was there except for you, but IMHO you're overthinking this incident, and it's just bad driving on the other guy's/gal's part. In any case I am glad that neither you nor your car were harmed by someone else's bad driving and/or stupidity.

Bruce.