My Autopilot Prevents A Crash - Video

Stingray Don

Stingray Don

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Stingray Don
Okay, sorry for the clickbait title. This was actually my Tesla Autopilot rather than the autopilot in my plane. Anyway, a car ran a red light and nearly caused an accident. Tesla Autopilot was engaged at the time. I felt the autopilot engage the brakes and take evasive action before I was able to take over. The autopilot's reaction time was definitely better than mine. Fortunately, there was an open lane beside me, otherwise, sheet metal would have been bent. The front camera doesn't seem to capture how close it really was compared to the side and rear cameras.

Be careful out there!

Front Camera -

Rear Camera -

Side Camera -
 
Sorry I saw that guy turn into your lane far sooner than your Tesla. From your front mount camera I saw his intention to drive into your lane. You pick up on these things when you ride a motorcycle. Well, you either do that or become a statistic.
 
I've had the autobraking fire a perhpas twice legitimately on my pickup truck (not autopilot, just anticollision devices). I've also had it nuisance fire a several times when it thought I was backing or driving into something on a slope.
 
I agree with Steingar, after riding a motorcycle for many years, I'm on hyper alert for that. I would have beat the Tesla's reaction time, however, I would have had to slam on the brakes, as I probably would have not had the situational awareness the Tesla has to feel comfortable swerving into the other lane.

I talk plenty of trash about Tesla, but I agree this was a success story.
 
Agree with Stiengar and Salty - motorcycle riding makes you look way ahead and anticipate cager (automobile driver) actions. Still, technology is good to prevent these things, but should be combined with good defensive driving. Autopilot in cars is still not 100% perfected technology for anticipating the irrational human driver.
 
rtk11 said:
Agree with Stiengar and Salty - motorcycle riding makes you look way ahead and anticipate cager (automobile driver) actions. Still, technology is good to prevent these things, but should be combined with good defensive driving. Autopilot in cars is still not 100% perfected technology for anticipating the irrational human driver.
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As motorcycle riders, we tend to pay a lot more attention than auto drivers. This is why some of us can ride for over 40 years and hundreds of thousands of miles on two wheels and never receive a scratch. Luck? I don't think so.
The Tesla autopilot is great for "casual" drivers that eat, drink, read, text, gab on the phone, deal with children onboard etc. as a way of life while driving a 4,000 pound vehicle at speeds well above the speed limit. Yes, autopilot is exactly what they need as an aid because they will NEVER discipline themselves to pay 100% attention to the task of driving. Very sad state of affairs.
 
Brad Smith said:
As motorcycle riders, we tend to pay a lot more attention than auto drivers. This is why some of us can ride for over 40 years and hundreds of thousands of miles on two wheels and never receive a scratch. Luck? I don't think so.
The Tesla autopilot is great for "casual" drivers that eat, drink, read, text, gab on the phone, deal with children onboard etc. as a way of life while driving a 4,000 pound vehicle at speeds well above the speed limit. Yes, autopilot is exactly what they need as an aid because they will NEVER discipline themselves to pay 100% attention to the task of driving. Very sad state of affairs.
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I had a bad motorcycle crash when I was 16 (crushed the top of the fuel tank with my, uh, you know) and my father said that it was my fault. Someone had turned left in front of me, were cited, paid a settlement. I argued with him at the time that it wasn't my fault, but he said that I took responsibility for the other drivers whenever I rode. When I was about 30, I really understood that. Fits in well with flying.
 
Yup. They’ll save the day every now and then. But they’ll increase the number of times the day needs to be saved. Kinda like flying and situational awareness. I get really pizzed every time I read some thing about how all the GPS type gadgets increase situational awareness when in fact they don’t. They are a substitute for situational awareness.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
I had a bad motorcycle crash when I was 16 (crushed the top of the fuel tank with my, uh, you know) and my father said that it was my fault. Someone had turned left in front of me, were cited, paid a settlement. I argued with him at the time that it wasn't my fault, but he said that I took responsibility for the other drivers whenever I rode. When I was about 30, I really understood that. Fits in well with flying.
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I went down once from an opposite direction left turner. They was wrong. But I blamed myself. I had time to brake instead of go left and behind them and there was other traffic that would have made maneuvering behind kinda close to other traffic so brake I did. But I wasn’t paying attention to where manhole covers were. The skid mark from my front tire began right at the edge of the cover. It locked up when it hit the cover and when it got to asphalt again a split second later it spit me down. I was already over the bars and kissing asphalt before I even realized it. I’ve always said that over 90% of motorcycle accidents are the riders fault even though the car driver is usually the one that initiated it.
 
Stingray Don said:
Had an upcoming left turn and no one was coming up to pass
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I’m sorry, but left lane drivers are a pet peeve of mine. 250-500 ft before the turn is about when one should move into the left lane for turn when driving at highway speeds. The turn was clearly much farther than that. You were motoring on for a long period and even went through an intersection, all in the left lane.


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jimhorner said:
I’m sorry, but left lane drivers are a pet peeve of mine. 250-500 ft before the turn is about when one should move into the left lane for turn when driving at highway speeds. The turn was clearly much farther than that. You were motoring on for a long period and even went through an intersection, all in the left lane.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Dreamer. You’re nuthin but a dreamer.
 
Salty said:
Dreamer. You’re nuthin but a dreamer.
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I know. As my mom used to say: “save my breath to cool my broth”

I’m impressed with how the Germans drive. Left lane for passing only. Pass and then move back right. Traffic flows much better that way.


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jimhorner said:
I’m sorry, but left lane drivers are a pet peeve of mine. 250-500 ft before the turn is about when one should move into the left lane for turn when driving at highway speeds. The turn was clearly much farther than that. You were motoring on for a long period and even went through an intersection, all in the left lane.
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My pet peeve? People that attempt to publicly shame others for a breach of etiquette that had absolutely no affect on anyone on the planet.
 
Stingray Don said:
My pet peeve? People that attempt to publicly shame others for a breach of etiquette that had absolutely no affect on anyone on the planet.
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Exactly!

Because charging full-speed at the person that made an error-in-judgment and swerving around them, instead of rapidly slowing down when you saw their error being made, did no one any harm.

No sheet metal was bent, no blood spilled. Why are we talking about this?
 
Back to the topic.... Yes, even with great situational awareness, the auto pilot helped out and the outcome was even better.

Being a good driver / pilot doesn't mean you have to be Amish.
 
jimhorner said:
I’m sorry, but left lane drivers are a pet peeve of mine.
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Mine too, and I agree in theory. In practice, it just doesn't occur. In California, it's pretty much "a free for all", and the number of "Left Lane Bandits" is egregious. But it seems (at least in California), that if you own a Prius, you are instantly granted a pass to either 1) sit in the left lane doing 50 mph, or 2) do well over 90 mph in all other lanes but the left lane.
 
I don’t know, to me it looks like the other driver was already slowing to go behind the OP. I think the AP veered right just because of proximity.
 
rtk11 said:
Mine too, and I agree in theory. In practice, it just doesn't occur. In California, it's pretty much "a free for all", and the number of "Left Lane Bandits" is egregious. But it seems (at least in California), that if you own a Prius, you are instantly granted a pass to either 1) sit in the left lane doing 50 mph, or 2) do well over 90 mph in all other lanes but the left lane.
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Yeah, I second that. Ironic how Prius owners who ostensibly bought their cars for good fuel economy are probably burning more of it at 90 mph than a C7 Vette loafing along at 1600 rpm with that ultra-tall overdrive. The COVID-19 "new normal" is about 85 mph on SoCal freeways. And...if I'm already doing 20 mph over the limit in the fast lane, someone behind me is more than welcome to pass on the right to do 95... :D
 
For the record, I was not relying on the automation for safety. I had my hand on the steering wheel during the entire trip (as recommended by Tesla) and was paying attention. I did see the potential conflict before taking action. The delay was checking my mirrors and blind spot before reacting blindly and causing a different accident (because I still had the time). The autopilot crash avoidance kicked in just before I took evasive action, which automatically turned off the autopilot. It appears that the autopilot was making the appropriate action to avoid the crash, but I took control rather than trust the crash avoidance.

As far as left lane usage. I keep to the right when on the highway. This was on city streets with stoplights. I like to get in the lane I need a little early so I don't get freight trained and miss my turn. If that annoys some people, so be it. In this case, I was in no way holding up traffic.
 
This is impressive maneuvering. I enjoy using AP. I look forward to the day when we can “just take a nap” during the commute. :)
 
jimhorner said:
I know. As my mom used to say: “save my breath to cool my broth”

I’m impressed with how the Germans drive. Left lane for passing only. Pass and then move back right. Traffic flows much better that way.


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Did you just say 'traffic' and 'flows' in the same sentence as German traffic? That makes me laugh.

More Stingray vids. Less Tesla!! :D
 
Well.... to be fair, that’s because in Germany if you stay in the left lane you fear a Porsche rear ending. Y
you at 300km/h.

If interstates here had no speed limits, people would use the left lane for passing only as well.
 
jimhorner said:
I know. As my mom used to say: “save my breath to cool my broth”

I’m impressed with how the Germans drive. Left lane for passing only. Pass and then move back right. Traffic flows much better that way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Bitte sagen Sie den Deutschen ;)
(far side of the valley where it goes to 3 lanes)
JAK_3283 by Jack Silver, on Flickr
 
A few days ago, I was driving in the left lane of the Sam Rayburn tollway in North Dallas. Traffic was light, and I was going about 75 MPH. The speed limit on the tollway is 70 MPH. Without warning, a truck traveling about 500' in front of me in an adjacent lane dumped a large bundle of ½" rebar splice bars onto the roadway.

The material immediately scattered across the lanes on either side of the truck. I reacted by flooring the accelerator, make a hard right movement across all four lanes to the shoulder, and quickly passed the debris. I didn't bother checking the mirrors before acting, because I already knew there weren't any cars in those lanes.

I am always aware of the position of all vehicles around me, and I'm always ready to react to a car turning into my path or appearing from either direction on a cross street.

I mentally note when I have passed cars in adjacent lanes, and know that now empty escape space is there if I need it. I'm vigilant regarding crossing and oncoming traffic. I'm not going to be surprised.

All of this requires having something very few people possess...constant situational awareness. I enjoy driving, and I give it my full attention. No phone use, no distractions. I also routinely drive 10 MPH over the speed limit, because constantly passing slower traffic gives me the ability to keep a clear mental picture of what escape moves I can take it necessary.

I don't own a vehicle that has so called "driver aids", and even if I did, I think I would disable them. I think they encourage mental disengagement and ignorance of ones surroundings. With the practice of texting, live streaming to Facebook, and other such actions while driving having become ubiquitous, keeping oneself aware of potential dangers from these drivers has become a requirement.

I think this philosophy has become ingrained with me because of my association with USAC and IndyCar racing, which has included acting as a spotter for my driver as he maneuvered through traffic while traveling over 200 MPH. It's been more than 30 years since I've had an accident or received a traffic citation.

I'm not some sort of a mobile badass. But I'm aware of my surroundings, and confident I can make maneuvers to avoid conflicts. All of what I've written above isn't anything radical or innovative, it's just clear thinking and planning. I consider it analogous to being proficient in upset recovery of the aircraft if it becomes necessary to use it.
 
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3393RP said:
[snip]

I didn't bother checking the mirrors before acting, because I already knew there weren't any cars in those lanes.

I am always aware of the position of all vehicles around me, and I'm always ready to react to a car turning into my path or appearing from either direction on a cross street.

I mentally note when I have passed cars in adjacent lanes, and know that now empty escape space is there if I need it. I'm vigilant regarding crossing and oncoming traffic. I'm not going to be surprised.

All of this requires having something very few people possess...constant situational awareness. I enjoy driving, and I give it my full attention. No phone use, no distractions. I also routinely drive 10 MPH over the speed limit, because constantly passing slower traffic gives me the ability to keep a clear mental picture of what escape moves I can take it necessary.

I don't own a vehicle that has so called "driver aids", and even if I did, I think I would disable them. I think they encourage mental disengagement and ignorance of ones surroundings. With the practice of texting, live streaming to Facebook, and other such actions while driving having become ubiquitous, so keeping oneself aware of potential dangers from these drivers has become a requirement.

[snip]
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Exactly! When I drive, I keep a constant scan going that involves the side mirrors, the center mirror, the dash, and of course the view out front. When I taught my son to drive, I taught him the scan. Front, driver’s side mirror, front, center mirror, front, passenger side mirror, front, dash, repeat. The goal is to have a constantly updating mental model of the surroundings of the car. Where the other traffic is in relation to you. As you called it, situational awareness. One should constantly know what the options are in the event that something untoward happens.

I agree about the driver’s aid stuff. Terrible. I rented a car in New York several months ago which had some of that turned on. There were times, before I figured out how to turn it off, that it would actively fight me for control. Not a fan.
 
The Subaru has avoided one possible crash so far and has slammed on the brakes panicking about snow in my driveway on a slope about 12 times.

And it only saw snow for a month after we bought it.

Saw someone else say their truck does it too.

Silly thing has accelerometers for slope in the electronics for the off road mode and hill assist and hill descent.

I guess the engineer’s didn’t think to tell the backup system the vehicle angle. Sigh.

Would be interesting to see if my driveway gives a Tesla a hissy fit in snow also. Dirt driveway, snow patches on dirt, downhill backing so the radar thinks something is coming at fender level.

Maybe next winter I’ll test and see if I can launch the car out of the garage fast enough to make it to the bottom of the hill before it panic stops. LOL
 
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Stingray Don said:
the statistics indicate that it is far safer than a human driver.
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To be fair, it’s too early in the game to have accurate statistics for a concept that hasn’t even been used by the general public for five years. Not to mention those current statistics account for a very small percentage of the total driving population.
 
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