Adaptive Cruise Control

[EarlyAdopter]

+ 1

But why are you talking about a criminal? The stolen Model S accident is another one.

Stolen Model S crashes after police pursuit. 7/4/14

Only because Mayhemm brought it up. Some confusion with the other collision in LA by the auto thief no doubt.

In this case, because the driver rear ended another vehicle resulting in fatalities they will likely be tried for manslaughter, which is a criminal offense. But indeed they shouldn't be called a criminal until they are tried and convicted. Stands as a good reminder of the deadly weapon we all wield when driving.

An auto brake could have potentially reduced the severity of this impact and saved lives. I want it on all cars - mine, and everyone else's who might ever hit mine.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

Only because Mayhemm brought it up. Some confusion with the other collision in LA by the auto thief no doubt.

In this case, because the driver rear ended another vehicle resulting in fatalities they will likely be tried for manslaughter, which is a criminal offense. But indeed they shouldn't be called a criminal until they are tried and convicted. Stands as a good reminder of the deadly weapon we all wield when driving.

An auto brake could have potentially reduced the severity of this impact and saved lives. I want it on all cars - mine, and everyone else's who might ever hit mine.

Agree 100%

 

[Cobos]

Another good reason that Tesla needs active safety measures is that EuroNCAP in reality within the next few years will require these for a 5 star safety rating, and in a few years even for a 4 star safety rating. Selling the Model S as a luxury sedan with a 4 star rating will not be easy outside of Norway, in Europe.

So getting this added to new Model S'es asap makes a lot of sense. As this is the first step towards the selfdriving car this IS Tesla's plan anyway.

Cobos

 

[Raffy.Roma]

Another data point. I was stopped at a red light behind a small truck (electrician IIRC), I was DIRECTLY behind, and he decided he needed to turn at the light so he put it in reverse and backed into me, despite my horn blaring at him. I was in a hurry, on my way to the airport, but I figured they'd try to say I rear-ended him, so I got the driver to sign a statement that he had reversed into me. Not surprisingly his insurance company tried to get out of it, so I just sent them a copy of his letter.

I suppose that if you had an obstacle detection system implemented on your car it would have recorded that while you got hit you were stopped and you wouldn't even have needed the signature of the statement. That's another reason why an ACC with a pedestrian and obstacle detection system integrated in it would be very useful IMO.

 

[NigelM]

I'm beginning to think that ACC is the anacronym for "A Circular Conversation"

 

[Raffy.Roma]

I'm beginning to think that ACC is the anacronym for "A Circular Conversation"

No it stands for Automatic Cruise Control. :smile:

 

[Pilot_51]

No it stands for Automatic Cruise Control. :smile:

Close. It actually means Adaptive Cruise Control or Autonomous Cruise Control.

 

[Doug_G]

"Accidental Cruise Control"

 

[Mayhemm]

Volvo, Mercedes, and Audi collision avoidance systems work at highways speeds and don't need to be turned on - they are always active unless you bother to go through a button sequence to disable them, which no criminal will.

How would this possibly work? The sensors would have to "see" many many car-lengths ahead in order to be effective even at 60mph. Most I have seen have trouble doing ONE car-length, let alone a dozen or two. Do they react to the rate at which your vehicle is closing on an object? I wouldn't want my car to suddenly brake because the computer felt I was closing too fast on the vehicle ahead of me...

Why are you so against a now basic technology that has proven itself over several years to reduce the severity of accidents?

I'm not against the technology at all. I'm against the assertion that its presence in Model S could have changed the outcome of (or even prevented) these crashes. Some people seem to think active safety systems are a magic bullet that makes it impossible to have accidents.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

How would this possibly work? The sensors would have to "see" many many car-lengths ahead in order to be effective even at 60mph. Most I have seen have trouble doing ONE car-length, let alone a dozen or two. Do they react to the rate at which your vehicle is closing on an object? I wouldn't want my car to suddenly brake because the computer felt I was closing too fast on the vehicle ahead of me...



I'm not against the technology at all. I'm against the assertion that its presence in Model S could have changed the outcome of (or even prevented) these crashes. Some people seem to think active safety systems are a magic bullet that makes it impossible to have accidents.

It's not that the computer feels you are closing too fast on the vehicle ahead of you. The computer has not feelings, but on the contrary it has the exact knowledge of the distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
That's why an active safety system can prevent or mitigate accidents.

- - - Updated - - -

Close. It actually means Adaptive Cruise Control or Autonomous Cruise Control.

You are right. In fact this system always adjusts the speed and the distance from the car ahead of you in order to have always a safety distance from it.

 

[ACDriveMotor]

Your information is out of date.

Volvo, Mercedes, and Audi collision avoidance systems work at highways speeds and don't need to be turned on - they are always active unless you bother to go through a button sequence to disable them, which no criminal will.

Why are you so against a now basic technology that has proven itself over several years to reduce the severity of accidents?

Acura as well. The MDX has MB style anti-collision-breaking-system (ACBS). Its a cheap feature to implement if you have ACC.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

How would this possibly work? The sensors would have to "see" many many car-lengths ahead in order to be effective even at 60mph. Most I have seen have trouble doing ONE car-length, let alone a dozen or two. Do they react to the rate at which your vehicle is closing on an object? I wouldn't want my car to suddenly brake because the computer felt I was closing too fast on the vehicle ahead of me...

Most systems work through a combination of radar and cameras. They warn if you're closing too fast. They only will brake at the last instant if you've taken no corrective actions. Here's a nice video from Audi from 3 years ago explaining how it works.

Another video from the IIHS:

I'm not against the technology at all. I'm against the assertion that its presence in Model S could have changed the outcome of (or even prevented) these crashes. Some people seem to think active safety systems are a magic bullet that makes it impossible to have accidents.

They don't make it impossible. They just significantly reduce the likelihood and severity. From the IIHS: Honda warning system trims insurance claims

"In the first real-world study of a crash avoidance system on a high-volume, nonluxury vehicle, Honda's system was found to reduce insurance claims for damage to other vehicles by 14 percent. It cut claims for injuries to occupants of the equipped vehicles by 27 percent and claims for injuries to other road users by 40 percent."​

Seems pretty significant to me.

 

[bhzmark]

any update on when Tesla is going to add this technology? They should be embarrassed that not only does every single remotely competitive product offer adaptive cruise but even Accords and Impalas offer adaptive cruise. At least Tesla does offer stability control and antilock brakes. Oh and parking sensors.

 

[ecarfan]

See @RichardL's post on 8/6/2014 in this topic Tesla Model S with Distronic Plus (Adaptaive Cruise Control) like Mercedes.

A Model S with ACC installed for test purposes was spotted at the Hawthorne Supercharger. Clearly it is under development and will be an available option sometime in the future. When is anyone's guess.

That topic should be merged with this one.

 

[bhzmark]

its coming on the model s in the us w/i a couple months.

So I was off by a few (about 12) months. Praise today that finally Tesla sells adaptive cruise, and a whole lot more.

Consumer Reports has a nice summary:

First, the company responded to a longstanding criticism made by Consumer Reports, among others, that the $90,000 luxury car lacked active driver safety aids commonly found in cars costing tens of thousands less.
But it took the concept one step further with what Tesla calls Autopilot. In addition to forward cameras and radars that finally give the Model S active emergency braking and lane keeping assist, the Model S uses 360-degree infrared [sic ultrasonic?] sensors to match the speed of the car to those around it. But the best trick is that Autopilot can park the Model S in your garage after you leave it in the driveway, and it can even bring the car to you from a parking spot, if you've entered the location you need it into the car's calendar. That only works on private property where it's legal, however. To make this work, Teslas with Autopilot use a new electro-mechanical braking system in place of traditional cars' vaccuum boosted hydraulic brakes.





On the highway, AutoPilot can change lanes one at a time when the driver activates the turn signal, and it can read road signs using the cameras and match the car's speed to the speed limit, for example.

 

[bhzmark]

Real Tesla ACC discussion now at Adaptive Cruise Control (experience post FW v6.1)