I drive with the flow of traffic. My mom drives the speed limit regardless of the flow of traffic. My wife drives 10 mph faster than the flow of traffic. I think both of them are unsafe but do I tell them? No! I value my life.
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Some Tesla hate on the highway...
- Thread starter jrh007
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Wooloomooloo
Member
Right, because being 2 inches from someone's backside means you get there so much faster than if you're following a safe distance behind... only it doesn't.
It's actually following too closely that slows traffic because of the "brake effect" where everyone has to break ever harder in a caterpillar like formation if someone changes speed or lane. Unfortunately, quite literally 99% of people on the road are too f-ing dumb to understand this.
Oh come on dude, you know the AP is very conservative and uses its brake much more frequently than a human at this point. It'll even brake for shadows. Heck, even my other cars brake too much when using adaptive cruise and they aren't nearly as sophisticated as Teslas'.
I only take issue with a blanket statement that Autopilot brakes a lot. There are reasons some of which are due to other drivers and some not. I argue that in most situations any "braking a lot" is going to be explained by what traffic in front of the Tesla is doing. If there is no traffic in front of the car then why would it brake? Yes there are phantom braking events but those generally don't happen "a lot". Now in stop and go traffic on the highway in certain circumstances yes you can have multiple braking events because of TACC triggering on other stop and go cars in adjacent lanes, but this is in a specific scenario, not all the time.
If you are the lead car or only car in a lane, Autopilot will not "brake a lot", unless there is some weird specific scenario.
I agree. I think a lot of folks jump to conclusions regarding "it happened because I was in a Tesla".
And yeah.
If you are regenning back and forth they might have thought you were brake checking them.
The Auto Highbeam can easily piss people off.
AP how it merges etc.
Well it might be because or how your Tesla behaves to others, but it's not because your in a Tesla
Dmagyar
Member
For the years I rode and commuted to work, making the Sunday morning ride, out of Marin city every week for many years. On those rides, many stretches of highway one, were taken at we’ll over 100 mph. Splitting lanes was always the most terrifying/exhilarating thing I did while on two wheels.
It was during the late eighties back in the South Bay, can’t even imagine how bad it is now to split...
FloridaGary
Member
T34ME
Active Member
READ MY POSTS before you smugly make assumptions. I hang out in the right lane when safe to do so. The only thing I am dictating is driving the speed limit for myself. I try to stay out of your way when safe to do so. Don't smugly flip me off when you are the one who is being a bully.
What makes you smugly think I don't move over to allow people to merge when safe to do so? Smugness is as smugness does.
It is also unlawful to stay in the far left lane, if you're not overtaking or passing. It doesn't matter if you're going the speed limit. So to answer your question on what lane you should be in, it is any lane you want except the far left lane (unless you're overtaking or passing someone).
A list of Keep right laws:
State "keep right" laws
In California, it is your duty to keep right if you are slower traffic
"Notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits, any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time shall be driven in the right-hand lane for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand edge or curb, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway."
Law section
Some states even have laws that you MUST yield the left lane to faster traffic
State "keep right" laws
In California, it is your duty to keep right if you are slower traffic
"Notwithstanding the prima facie speed limits, any vehicle proceeding upon a highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at such time shall be driven in the right-hand lane for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand edge or curb, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway."
Law section
Some states even have laws that you MUST yield the left lane to faster traffic
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
Judging by the feedback you're getting, I may not be the only one who read your commentary as smug.
Your sense of self satisfaction and disdain for others who don't conform to YOUR idea of a good driver is literally textbook "smug".
Wooloomooloo
Member
Braking earlier means having to slow down by less, which means keeping the flow of traffic consistent. If you have 20 autonomous cars all following each other at 60mph, and the first one slowed to 50mph, the 20th car would probably also slow to 50mph by the time the ripple got to them, maybe a little slower but not much.
With human drivers, and that "delayed reaction" you mention, by the time you get to the 10th car or so, they will have to stop.
Car 1 slows from 60mph to 50mph in 8 seconds
Car 2 (human) only reacts after closing down 2 car lengths and is only 4 car lengths from the car in front, so has to braker harder going from 60mph to 50mph in 4 seconds
Car 3 only reacts after closing down 2 car lengths and has to brake even harder, losing the 10mph in 2 seconds
Car 4 has to over-brake slowing down to 40 mph
Car 5... and so on
This also is why jams happen when cars need to merge from 2 lanes to one - driving too close and reacting too slowing means cars only merge right at the last minute, causing the car behind to brake and slow everyone down.
The best thing autonomous driving will do is pretty much eliminate traffic jams on highways because AI won't be spending all of its effort trying to stop another person from merging... 'cos "me first... me me me me"
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
but until we get to that point, it's going to be painful as we get a mix of smarter cars with AI, and "dumb" cars still doing dumb things.
Yes, I think one of the challenge is mixing the old and the new. And to use the car versus horses metaphor, i wonder if it will be necessary to build an extra infrastructure (road for the robocars). Try mixing horses and car on a highway !
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
Statistically, going with the flow is safer than driving the posted speed limit, if everyone else is going faster. Speed variation increases your driving risk, by causing yo-yo-ing behind you. You are in your rights to drive the posted speed in the right lane, as that's the best way to do it, but it's not necessarily safer. Just realize that the posted speed limit is a one-size fits all, which makes no sense but is practical. Surely the speed limit shouldn't be the same on a beautiful clear day and a rainy day with limited visibility, but it is.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
What's a break? And how do you use it?
I don’t think the driver mentioned any AP misbehavior so wouldn’t assume that at all. And swearing, flipping off people, etc certainly only escalates situations like this with some annoyed drivers also playing road games.
Haven't had any Tesla specific issues in the Midwest, but people are generally nicer than the coasts. The only time a R-neck in a pickup that tried to ram me off the road was 2 years ago in my SUV. I wish I had a dashcam then as he'd be getting a visit from the cops.
Bikes get way better mpg over their lifetime...considering how many riders don't make it. Loosing just 1 human results in far more CO2 reductions than any EV could ever accomplish.
Accentcreate
Member
Motorcycle riders are just what they've always been: major polluters of noxious gases, many times more than cars and major noise polluters as well.
When you are riding an electric motorbike and not covered in tats and chains I'll take note of your concerns.
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