Tesla M3 Nearly Tangles With Semi (Dashcam video)

[TESLEV!]

April 2019. I94 in Detroit. The semi in front of me assumes I'm waiting for him to merge. The orange car in the left lane begins to slow but then passes me. At 0:40 you can see how close the semi came to hitting me. Tesla has three cameras in their Dashcam feature. I used all three here to capture the drama.

But why did I not get an audible chime when the truck came so close to me in my blind spot. The image at the end of the clip shows the settings were on for that.

 

[mal_tsla]

The car itself seems to have a blind spot in the sensor suite, in terms of what it can detect. I noticed this in action just yesterday, as the display was missing a car that was beside me but approximately next to the rear passenger door, but showed the car behind it and a car in front ... as that car next to me moved forward alongside me, it finally showed up onscreen. The display went from 2 cars to three cars suddenly at that point.

 

[Ludalicious]

Or you could of just let the semi merge... He had his turn signal on and probably seen his lane was ending soon.

 

[TESLEV!]

Or you could of just let the semi merge... He had his turn signal on and probably seen his lane was ending soon.

The trouble is I slowed down, waited and he did nothing. So I went and so did he!

My main concern is there was no audible chime or beeping when the thing got close to the car. Am I wrong to assume this since the settings appear to be correct.

 

[TESLEV!]

The car itself seems to have a blind spot in the sensor suite, in terms of what it can detect. I noticed this in action just yesterday, as the display was missing a car that was beside me but approximately next to the rear passenger door, but showed the car behind it and a car in front ... as that car next to me moved forward alongside me, it finally showed up onscreen. The display went from 2 cars to three cars suddenly at that point.

Shouldn't I have heard something?

 

[destructure00]

Shouldn't I have heard something?

Doesn't your signal have to be on to activate blind spot monitoring?

 

[Ludalicious]

The trouble is I slowed down, waited and he did nothing. So I went and so did he!

My main concern is there was no audible chime or beeping when the thing got close to the car. Am I wrong to assume this since the settings appear to be correct.

True dat.... plenty of time given.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I have to ask why the semi was trying to change lanes, when it was clearly strictly prohibited by a solid white line! Definitely a decent amount of time for him to assert himself...always a tough call in these situations, and with the solid white lines I might have decided he wasn't actually serious about the lane change, too.

 

[jonotastic]

Glad you are okay! This is why I no longer let anyone change lanes if it requires me to slow down. I’m not an arse that speeds up as soon as someone signals, but I no longer slow down to let them in because crap like this happens.

 

[TiggerTime]

Blind spot warning is for when you are changing lanes and have your blinker on. Someone coming into your lane from the blind spot is not what it is designed for.

 

[TESLEV!]

Blind spot warning is for when you are changing lanes and have your blinker on. Someone coming into your lane from the blind spot is not what it is designed for.

Thanks. That answers my question.

 

[TampaRich]

Don’t know about your area, but crossing a solid white line is illegal around here. Semi is at fault.

 

[SunCharged]

I have to ask why the semi was trying to change lanes, when it was clearly strictly prohibited by a solid white line! Definitely a decent amount of time for him to assert himself...always a tough call in these situations, and with the solid white lines I might have decided he wasn't actually serious about the lane change, too.

Because in MI the semis and slowest drivers all try to stay in the left lanes as much as possible.

 

[Stach]

Don’t know about your area, but crossing a solid white line is illegal around here. Semi is at fault.

At least in the Midwest (MN, WI and IA) a single white line only discourages lane changes (usually because of curves, tunnels, etc..) and a double white line prohibits lane changes. I thought those "line rules" were universal in the US, but maybe not. If so, then the semi didn't break the law, but definitely took too long to change lanes after being given space by the Tesla.

My 2 cents.
Stach

 

[zhu-]

My main concern is there was no audible chime or beeping when the thing got close to the car. Am I wrong to assume this since the settings appear to be correct.

I usually only hear proximity chimes when they are directly in front or behind me. From that angle I wouldn't expect anything. As others said, the blindspot chime only occurs if someone's in your blindspot when your signals are on.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

At least in the Midwest (MN, WI and IA) a single white line only discourages lane changes (usually because of curves, tunnels, etc..) and a double white line prohibits lane changes. I thought those "line rules" were universal in the US, but maybe not. If so, then the semi didn't break the law, but definitely took too long to change lanes after being given space by the Tesla.

My 2 cents.
Stach

Yeah I seem to be wrong about this, though I know of places in Portland where it says specifically no lane changes, and the restriction is marked by a SINGLE white line. But apparently it is cool in Caifornia, though there may be exceptions there too. Pretty sure I have seen the same marking in construction zones with signs prohibiting lane changes. So I guess it depends perhaps on the prior signage.

I assume it would be illegal if there were a sign saying no lane changes.

 

[superbaka]

I have had this problem many times with merging traffic in different scenarios.

One thing that may be happening here is autopilot is reading a solid white line, indicating NO CROSSING (For you). It may simply drop extra functions in that case, and it assumes nobody will cross in.

The other problem is radar is glancing off it at such a shallow angle. I find it requires a blunt rear of a car, bike etc to "ping" back. This is obviously a problem they need to address.

 

[superbaka]

Also -- for those who say the white line is permissible in their state, try auto lane change with it and see if it works. It won't here in CA. I've even had my car abort a lane change if the line becomes solid during the change.

 

[wenkan]

Or you could of just let the semi merge... He had his turn signal on and probably seen his lane was ending soon.

Look at the ground, white solid line means no lane changing. Signaling ahead doesn’t make such a reckless maneuver legal.

 

[Magnets!]

Look at the ground, white solid line means no lane changing. Signaling ahead doesn’t make such a reckless maneuver legal.

Depends on the State. In Michigan (OPs state) crossing solid white line is not recommended, but not illegal.

I don't think the truck was in the OPs blindspot when he moved over so not surprising the blindspot warning didn't activate. It probably uses the front fender or B pillar rear facing camera which wouldn't even had much if any view of the truck.