Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

TACC and Collision Warning Saved me from a Accident Friday Night!

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I would like to report, that the emergency breaking saved myself and my boys from a major accident in the loaner 85 I have right now.
Friday Night, We were on the freeway, it was raining, 70mph. A dufus in a a LARGE Pickup Truck cut us off trying to get into my lane before he had to slam on the brakes due to following about 4 ft from a Semi truck.

The car detected his actions of moving into my lane and immediately, much MUCH faster then I could have reacted, did a controlled emergency brake (collision warning went off too) to drop our speed to prevent the truck from hitting us. If it did not take over, we would have gotten nailed. it would have hit 3ft back into the car. It's difficult to explain, maybe one day I will draw a picture.... And to top it off, the pickup truck's driver had the gall to give me the middle finger.....

Every time I decide against the Dash Cam...... ARGGGGGG!!! I really need to get one, though, this was a loaner. Darn It! Couldn't have been my car so I could have upgraded to a newer one :((
 
I would like to report, that the emergency breaking saved myself and my boys from a major accident in the loaner 85 I have right now.
Friday Night, We were on the freeway, it was raining, 70mph. A dufus in a a LARGE Pickup Truck cut us off trying to get into my lane before he had to slam on the brakes due to following about 4 ft from a Semi truck.

The car detected his actions of moving into my lane and immediately, much MUCH faster then I could have reacted, did a controlled emergency brake (collision warning went off too) to drop our speed to prevent the truck from hitting us. If it did not take over, we would have gotten nailed. it would have hit 3ft back into the car. It's difficult to explain, maybe one day I will draw a picture.... And to top it off, the pickup truck's driver had the gall to give me the middle finger.....

Every time I decide against the Dash Cam...... ARGGGGGG!!! I really need to get one, though, this was a loaner. Darn It! Couldn't have been my car so I could have upgraded to a newer one :((

Glad to hear that you and your kids are OK. That's the most important thing.

But I wanted to post to clear some things up, and possibly prevent other people from perhaps getting hurt.

According to the release notes, the current implementation of the Collision Avoidance Assist system will only brake to reduce the impact of "an unavoidable frontal collision" that is going to happen. We don't yet have a true collision avoidance system.

Here's a link to a picture of those notes:

Firmware 6.2 - Page 2


You mentioned TACC in the thread title, so I'm guessing you had TACC engaged. So it's possible that TACC picked up the truck that cut you off, and braked to maintain your safe distance behind it. It's great that it worked to your benefit. But I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the manual warns against using TACC in heavy rain, on slippery roads, etc.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I'm glad you're OK. I just think it's important that people know exactly what the autopilot safety features are capable of, and what they're not capable of.
 
I would like to report, that the emergency breaking saved myself and my boys from a major accident in the loaner 85 I have right now.
Friday Night, We were on the freeway, it was raining, 70mph. A dufus in a a LARGE Pickup Truck cut us off trying to get into my lane before he had to slam on the brakes due to following about 4 ft from a Semi truck.

The car detected his actions of moving into my lane and immediately, much MUCH faster then I could have reacted, did a controlled emergency brake (collision warning went off too) to drop our speed to prevent the truck from hitting us. If it did not take over, we would have gotten nailed. it would have hit 3ft back into the car. It's difficult to explain, maybe one day I will draw a picture.... And to top it off, the pickup truck's driver had the gall to give me the middle finger.....

Every time I decide against the Dash Cam...... ARGGGGGG!!! I really need to get one, though, this was a loaner. Darn It! Couldn't have been my car so I could have upgraded to a newer one :((

I'm glad the car saved you from a messy accident!

I spent a summer in Milwaukee back in the 1990s working contract for a small aerospace company there (I forget the name of it at the moment). I noticed that it was a popular maneuver to pass people on the right using the right turn only lane and a number of other knucklehead moves. The most amazing was I think on Shorewood (my memory of which street was which is getting hazy). It was a road that made a Y. At the Y, the car two cars in front of me started to go right and at the last second decided to go the other way. Both the car in front of me and I had to jam on the breaks to prevent getting in an accident. We go down a few blocks and the guys who almost caused the accident park in front of a pizza place. As the driver gets out of the car, he flipped off the driver of the car in front of me.

One of the other contractors I worked with decided he wasn't going to get passed on the right in the right turn only lane and he pushed a guy up on the sidewalk by moving into that lane in such a way the only choice left was to go up on the sidewalk or hit him. The co-worker was quite a jerk in a lot of other ways, but I did get a bit of schadenfreude over that story.

I think a dashcam is a good idea these days. My SO's law partner is dealing with a case right now where the dashcam in the car that rear ended a truck was able to prove the guy in front was at fault (road rage). Without that kind of proof, they always assume the car behind is at fault.

You'll have to figure out how to capitalize on your YouTube videos so you can buy a new 85 with autopilot. :smile:
 
Glad to hear that you and your kids are OK. That's the most important thing.

But I wanted to post to clear some things up, and possibly prevent other people from perhaps getting hurt.

According to the release notes, the current implementation of the Collision Avoidance Assist system will only brake to reduce the impact of "an unavoidable frontal collision" that is going to happen. We don't yet have a true collision avoidance system.

Here's a link to a picture of those notes:

Firmware 6.2 - Page 2


You mentioned TACC in the thread title, so I'm guessing you had TACC engaged. So it's possible that TACC picked up the truck that cut you off, and braked to maintain your safe distance behind it. It's great that it worked to your benefit. But I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the manual warns against using TACC in heavy rain, on slippery roads, etc.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I'm glad you're OK. I just think it's important that people know exactly what the autopilot safety features are capable of, and what they're not capable of.

That is correct, the TACC "saw" the truck and applied the necessary braking power to put the user requested distance (7 car lengths as it was pouring rain out) between me and that truck. The Collision Warning came on because of the close proximity, he missed the passenger front by mere 1-2 inches due to the braking of the car, and by the time he got fully into my lane, I was only about 1ft away from his rear bumper, just to show how freaking quick this guy moved over and how dang fast that TACC reacted.
In general, for normal driving, I find the TACC VERY VERY Flaky, however, in this instance, THANK YOU TESLA!!!!!! I just wish I could afford to upgrade my tired worn out Model S :(


And yes, I know it warns against in heavy rain. I was actually Testing it out (As I say, It was a loaner, with a number of goodies my old 2013 with 70k miles does not have), and I had the 7 car lengths set, which is actually a quite good distance. Sure enough it kept me peg'd right at the same distance from the car in front of me. And if I wasnt testing that TACC, I would most likely, as well as my children, be in the hospital right now.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm glad the car saved you from a messy accident!

I spent a summer in Milwaukee back in the 1990s working contract for a small aerospace company there (I forget the name of it at the moment). I noticed that it was a popular maneuver to pass people on the right using the right turn only lane and a number of other knucklehead moves. The most amazing was I think on Shorewood (my memory of which street was which is getting hazy). It was a road that made a Y. At the Y, the car two cars in front of me started to go right and at the last second decided to go the other way. Both the car in front of me and I had to jam on the breaks to prevent getting in an accident. We go down a few blocks and the guys who almost caused the accident park in front of a pizza place. As the driver gets out of the car, he flipped off the driver of the car in front of me.

One of the other contractors I worked with decided he wasn't going to get passed on the right in the right turn only lane and he pushed a guy up on the sidewalk by moving into that lane in such a way the only choice left was to go up on the sidewalk or hit him. The co-worker was quite a jerk in a lot of other ways, but I did get a bit of schadenfreude over that story.

I think a dashcam is a good idea these days. My SO's law partner is dealing with a case right now where the dashcam in the car that rear ended a truck was able to prove the guy in front was at fault (road rage). Without that kind of proof, they always assume the car behind is at fault.

You'll have to figure out how to capitalize on your YouTube videos so you can buy a new 85 with autopilot. :smile:
I believe I know the intersection your talking about. Shorewood is one area I do avoid, heck, I avoid the entire north side of Milwaukee/Milwaukee County at all costs unless you want to get shot. Shorewood isn't that bad crime wise, but mostly college students at UWM or Marquette Universities, and well.... I'm sure you know where I'm going with that.

Yes, I will need to save up for a dash cam. I have been capitalizing on my youtube channel, it's currently 50% of my income. I had to close my scooter & cycle shop. Single father of two boys, one disabled. I couldn't run a storefront and take care of my boys full time. So YouTube, and importing then selling scooter & motorcycle parts online is it. I owe Tesla quite a bit. If I never got a Tesla, my YouTube channel never would have grown to the point where I could make a (meager) income, and I'd be in the poor house. But each day, one day at a time. Slowly bringing myself back from that ordeal with the ex. And most of all, it's something I enjoy doing, and can incorporate my children into it as well. I cant wait until my Geno's older, has kids of his own. I think of it like a legacy in a way. He will be able to show his kids, and his grand kids his life growing up, and at the very start of the real Rev-EV-Loution. Who knows, maybe we will "hand down" our channel ;-) it will be almost like a family tree haha. And speak of the Devil, He just came to tell me I forgot to plug the car in...... Smart lil devil!

Cheers Everyone!!!
 
I believe I know the intersection your talking about. Shorewood is one area I do avoid, heck, I avoid the entire north side of Milwaukee/Milwaukee County at all costs unless you want to get shot. Shorewood isn't that bad crime wise, but mostly college students at UWM or Marquette Universities, and well.... I'm sure you know where I'm going with that.

Yes, I will need to save up for a dash cam. I have been capitalizing on my youtube channel, it's currently 50% of my income. I had to close my scooter & cycle shop. Single father of two boys, one disabled. I couldn't run a storefront and take care of my boys full time. So YouTube, and importing then selling scooter & motorcycle parts online is it. I owe Tesla quite a bit. If I never got a Tesla, my YouTube channel never would have grown to the point where I could make a (meager) income, and I'd be in the poor house. But each day, one day at a time. Slowly bringing myself back from that ordeal with the ex. And most of all, it's something I enjoy doing, and can incorporate my children into it as well. I cant wait until my Geno's older, has kids of his own. I think of it like a legacy in a way. He will be able to show his kids, and his grand kids his life growing up, and at the very start of the real Rev-EV-Loution. Who knows, maybe we will "hand down" our channel ;-) it will be almost like a family tree haha. And speak of the Devil, He just came to tell me I forgot to plug the car in...... Smart lil devil!

Cheers Everyone!!!

I was living in a house across the street from the UWM campus. It was summer and school was out, the owner was happy to have some rooms rented out during his slow season. Work was just on the northern edge of the really bad part of town. The owner of the company was very cheap and bought a building from Blue Cross at a bargain. I grew up in East LA and thought I had seen ghettos, but Milwaukee's ghetto was a whole order of magnitude worse than I have ever seen. I've also lived in Seattle and Portland which basically don't have ghettos. There are some poor parts of town where crime is a bit higher, but nothing approaching East LA poor.

The area over by the university was pretty nice, but I kept my car doors locked driving to and from work. I rented from a rent a wreck place while I was there. If I had a car that wasn't a nondescript beater I would have been even more nervous in that neighborhood.

My SO's ex has a company designing electric bikes and he used to design motorcycles. He's come up with some innovative designs and I think he and his business partner might do OK. It's definitely a hot market, but they struggle with production.