Scary AP incident this morning

[GWord]

To be clear, my car did not brake suddenly. Instead, it started to move over, car behind accelerated to pass, and then my car thinking the truck was in my lane when it wasn’t, attempted to move back into the original lane causing the passing car to brake sharply. I jerked the wheel to the right and executed the lane change myself. Honestly, there was plenty of room and this was not a “fringe” maneuver as someone suggested. The phantom truck appearing in my lane was the problem. I was in control the entire time.

I understand this may have been scary but it doesn’t seem conceptually different than you driving manually, noticing a car in your blind spot and swerving back in your lane. On Houston roads, I see this commonly. If I understand your scenario correctly, the blame clearly lies with the tailgating driver who attempted to pass before you had vacated the lane. Most states have transportation laws that prohibit speeding up to overtake until the vehicle in front has completed its lane change maneuver.

 

[Apathy]

Cars should NEVER pass on the right so I'm not sure why the tailgater is upset. If you signaled that you were moving over, that is the correct way. Also, as others have mentioned, AP won't do this. Lane correction and accident avoidance may but not to the point where it'll actually move back. It usually relies on the side cameras to detect cars. So either the large truck was merging into your lane or you were going too close to the 2nd lane on your right perhaps?

I mean, this is a little unrealistic. Drivers routinely travel at under the speed limit in the cruising and passing lanes. It is impractical to sit behind them and wait for them to change lanes especially when both lanes next to them are open. It's also not illegal to pass in the right/middle lanes, so suggesting that people should "never pass in the right lane" is an old school way of looking at things. At least in New York/Connecticut it is not a traffic infraction.

 

[brandon8387]

why are people relying on autopilot in these kind of situation. You are still the driver of the vehicle.

Lol cuz he paid thousands for it

 

[PecuniaNonOlet]

Saw this myself on a road trip last month. I think it comes from the car suddenly not being able to see the lane line separating you from the truck. So, after you have already initiated the lane change, the car sees you in the same (huge, 2x wide) lane as the truck and aborts the lane change. I also pissed off the guy behind me when it happened to me. No harm done, but I will not initiate an autopilot lane change in a similar situation again.