I wonder what others here think about what happens when cancelling autopilot while speed restricted on a non-divided highway.
Example:
It needs to retain a little more state: when it transitions from a speed-restricted autopilot condition into TACC-only, it needs to reset the TACC speed to the restricted speed. Anything else can cause acceleration that from the driver's point of view is sudden and unexpected -- and that's not good.
Do others agree?
Note that though one can train oneself to always cancel autopilot with the brake rather than the steering -- and I am a staunch advocate that autopilot-assisted driving is a skill that itself requires the driver to learn and practice a number of new habits for safety, this among them -- it is also possible to cancel autopilot accidentally by bumping or too firmly nudging the wheel.
I don't know whether this interaction also happens in the case of the flashing red "TAKE OVER IMMEDIATELY" e.g. when autopilot loses the lane line on a sharp curve. If it does, that'd be particularly bad. There's a section of road near here where the speed limit drops from 55 (straight as an arrow, too) to 30 with a series of very sharp curves where autopilot frequently requires a driver takeover. I never let autopilot enter that area without manually reducing the set speed precisely because I'm worried about this interaction; but I live here, so I know! A driver from another area could be surprised.
Example:
- I am traveling at 60MPH with autopilot engaged on a 2-lane road.
- I enter a 40MPH zone as I pass through a small residential area, and the car displays the speed-restricted message as it slows to 45MPH.
- I turn the wheel to avoid a road surface defect (e.g. pothole) or because Autopilot deals poorly with a sharp curve.
- The car leaves autopilot but remains in TACC mode, and accelerates to the full 60MPH speed that was set in step 1.
It needs to retain a little more state: when it transitions from a speed-restricted autopilot condition into TACC-only, it needs to reset the TACC speed to the restricted speed. Anything else can cause acceleration that from the driver's point of view is sudden and unexpected -- and that's not good.
Do others agree?
Note that though one can train oneself to always cancel autopilot with the brake rather than the steering -- and I am a staunch advocate that autopilot-assisted driving is a skill that itself requires the driver to learn and practice a number of new habits for safety, this among them -- it is also possible to cancel autopilot accidentally by bumping or too firmly nudging the wheel.
I don't know whether this interaction also happens in the case of the flashing red "TAKE OVER IMMEDIATELY" e.g. when autopilot loses the lane line on a sharp curve. If it does, that'd be particularly bad. There's a section of road near here where the speed limit drops from 55 (straight as an arrow, too) to 30 with a series of very sharp curves where autopilot frequently requires a driver takeover. I never let autopilot enter that area without manually reducing the set speed precisely because I'm worried about this interaction; but I live here, so I know! A driver from another area could be surprised.