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Automatic braking systems save lives. Now they'll need to work at 62 MPH (wired.com)
techdmn 17 minutes ago [-]
I have a Tesla with AEB that drives me up the wall. I'm often driving in heavy traffic, and occasionally need to quickly, but smoothly, stop within a few feet of the vehicle ahead. My car decides I'm cutting it too close, engages full automatic braking, jerking the car to sudden stop with a 10 foot gap. Sometimes the vehicle ahead will even start moving before my car is stopped, but it has decided to stop and stop it shall. Cannot override even by flooring the accelerator. I miss cars that did what they were told, when they were told to do it. For the record I've never rear-ended anyone.
IncreasePosts 10 minutes ago [-]
There's a setting to disable that. I think you can just convert the action into a warning beep. That's the first thing I did, because I was pretty sure that the automatic braking was going to cause an accident before it saved me from an accident.

That's also part of the reason I would never even consider the Tesla insurance, where the cost is based on driving events like that I think? There is a RV that is parked on the street near a curve near my house, and every single time I drive by I get a warning about smashing into it.

josefresco 10 minutes ago [-]
If you are going to share your anecdotal experience about AEB, please also share your specific vehicle make/model/year.

The entire point* of these tests by AAA was to measure the effectiveness of these systems, as compared to older cars/systems.

If you're saying "Well my AEB sucks" you might want to look at the tests, and consider that your system might be old, or just an individually sucky implementation.

alvah 28 minutes ago [-]
I very much doubt AEB saves anything like as many lives as "studies" claim, for the simple reason the "studies" will not be able to account for the number of times AEB hauls on the anchors, unexpectedly, for no reason at all. This has happened to me 3 times in the last few years, fortunately with nobody behind me, and likely causes more accidents than it avoids. It will be good when it's production ready.
josefresco 14 minutes ago [-]
This wasn't a "study" of real world data it was a series of controlled tests by AAA. The full report is here: https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/REVISED-...

The conclusion: The systems are getting better.

There is no claim that they are creating safer roads, or are a net benefit.

mpalfrey 24 minutes ago [-]
AEB at 62mph is likely to be pretty damn scary.

I've experienced it slamming on at slow speeds and it's pretty aggressive.

smitelli 5 minutes ago [-]
Its existence has made me change my driving habits for sure, and none of my cars even have AEB. It’s a nagging sense that the car directly in front of me is going to come to a screeching halt for no reason and it’s up to my own reaction time to avoid rear-ending them.

I also got a dashcam, but all things being equal my preference would be to not hit anything in the first place.

SAI_Peregrinus 28 seconds ago [-]
> It’s a nagging sense that the car directly in front of me is going to come to a screeching halt for no reason and it’s up to my own reaction time to avoid rear-ending them.

That should always be the case, even without AEB.

HPsquared 18 minutes ago [-]
Lane keeping assistants can be pretty bad too. I have a relative with a 2018 VW that has a lane keeping function, and it's swerved the car out of nowhere a couple of times (or at least, maybe it made a small correction which startled the driver and caused them to swerve - either way it's a human interaction nightmare).

I think it's kept in some kind of standby mode at low speeds then kicks in automatically when over a certain speed, when IT chooses to kick in and can take the driver by surprise, the car tries to move to the centre of the lane (or what it thinks is the lane).

notact 2 minutes ago [-]
My VW has lane-keeping assist. In general I like it, because it had nudged me when I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have. But one failure mode is that it can detect shadows or other artifacts that it decides are lane markers. For example, at the right time of day hanging power lines will create a smooth curved shadow line on the road surface that the car will want to follow where ever they lead. It's not strong enough to yank the wheel out of my hands, but if I were briefly holding the wheel with my knee while reaching for something, it could get messy.
DoingIsLearning 4 minutes ago [-]
As a big defender of ADAS in general and after experiencing active Lane Keep (not LDW) in several rental vehicles, while on holiday, I feel that they genuinely make driving on countryside roads and mountain roads more dangerous.
debacle 2 minutes ago [-]
Antilock brakes are bad enough. I don't want to ever own a car with an automatic braking system.
queuebert 15 minutes ago [-]
On a related note, I've always wondered if straight ahead 60 to 0 braking tests were relevant to anything. Not many accidents happen where a driver is just unable to completely stop and end up hitting the other car at 10 mph.

I would think the insurance companies could come up with a better braking test, like 60 to 40 with a swerve, where the suspension response factors in as well as both tire lateral and longitudinal grip.

bob1029 52 seconds ago [-]
[delayed]
spacephysics 21 minutes ago [-]
Especially during inclement weather (honestly even only mild weather), the system activates when it thinks i’m not gonna stop in time near a stop light. I don’t drive aggressive or reckless, but if the right mix of weather/sun/etc hits, the system is far too sensitive (despite adjusting settings)

Having this shit at 62 mph? Excuse my french but fuck no

iwontberude 19 minutes ago [-]
Do you drive a Toyota? Have never had any false positives yet.
markerz 12 minutes ago [-]
I'm pretty impressed by Toyota (2024 Prius Prime). Braking has only ever kicked in when I parallel-park between two very close vehicles and it was very easy to override. Just press the break and let go. Lane-keeping assist is a bit wonky sometimes but it's very understandable why, like train tracks that veer off away from the road or poorly painted lanes.

They do just the right amount of "help" without really getting in your way.

spacephysics 14 minutes ago [-]
Haha good guess, yeah I drive a Tacoma for the last 3 years
superkuh 7 minutes ago [-]
This is not feasible so likely a number of seperate broken systems will be implemented that will contribute to the injury and deaths of many till the NHTSA recognizes reality again. It usually takes them a few years, like when they tried to mandate vehicle-to-vehicle wireless broadcasting of identity and velocity vectors in cars by 2024 in the late 2010s and early 2020s.
iwontberude 20 minutes ago [-]
Toyota Safety Sense has kept me from a few fender benders. It’s active at up to 50mph and has been super reliable.
seneca 24 minutes ago [-]
Automatic breaking is perhaps the worst feature I've ever experienced on a car. It's jarring, takes control from the driver, and, in my case, was unnecessary to engage and dangerous.
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