Road-rager's attorney mentions regenerative braking during case

[AWDtsla]

wait, but
normal driving = race car experience...

For some people yes. But let's take kind of normal scenario, accelerate quickly in either a manual car or manual/sport mode on an automatic, merge into lane, then let off throttle to scrub off excess speed you might have to match the car in front of you. In the normal case the guy in the lane behind doesn't really need to do anything. But since you let off the throttle to scrub some speed off, your brake lights turn on. So really, you look like an idiot because your accelerating and immediately flashing brake lights on the highway.

Let's take another case where you're just a fast driver. You can accelerate on empty sections of the highway and slowdown gracefully before the next bit of traffic without too many people being alerted to what you are doing. In a Model S, you have to carefully feather the throttle while having the rear view camera on, lest your brake lights turn on and alert everyone that you might have been going at extra-legal speeds.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

For some people yes. But let's take kind of normal scenario, accelerate quickly in either a manual car or manual/sport mode on an automatic, merge into lane, then let off throttle to scrub off excess speed you might have to match the car in front of you. In the normal case the guy in the lane behind doesn't really need to do anything. But since you let off the throttle to scrub some speed off, your brake lights turn on. So really, you look like an idiot because your accelerating and immediately flashing brake lights on the highway.

Let's take another case where you're just a fast driver. You can accelerate on empty sections of the highway and slowdown gracefully before the next bit of traffic without too many people being alerted to what you are doing. In a Model S, you have to carefully feather the throttle while having the rear view camera on, lest your brake lights turn on and alert everyone that you might have been going at extra-legal speeds.

yep agree 100% with all this

in these situations, which happen very often, the brake lights are not a good thing. now I try to feather to slow down unless I really over did the 'passing speed' and really need to slow down

 

[scaesare]

wait, but
normal driving = race car experience...

Shhh! Not for my daughter!

 

[jerry33]

For some people yes. But let's take kind of normal scenario, accelerate quickly in either a manual car or manual/sport mode on an automatic, merge into lane, then let off throttle to scrub off excess speed you might have to match the car in front of you. In the normal case the guy in the lane behind doesn't really need to do anything. But since you let off the throttle to scrub some speed off, your brake lights turn on. So really, you look like an idiot because your accelerating and immediately flashing brake lights on the highway.

ICE cars do this regularly, once they pull in to the space in front of you the first thing they do is press the brake pedal--doesn't take regen.

 

[shrspeedblade]

One thing I've got to say simply because it bothers me so much and has for some time. I've been a cyclist for most of my life and moved to N. California later in life, and generally speaking the cycling population around here is downright obnoxious. They have a huge sense of entitlement, think they own the road, don't care how their actions affect others, and think the rules of the road don't apply to them. Rated as a group if they were drivers they'd probably be in the bottom 10%. So, when one of them gets hit (or in this case runs into somebody else) I'm always suspicious as to what they were doing or not doing that contributed to the incident. This kind of behavior is exhibited by cyclists all over the North Bay every day, impeding traffic and taking offense when their obnoxious, selfish behavior is pointed out, they just usually don't get hit for it.

 

[WMAC]

I'll say it again. Regen brakes lights are stupid. There's only a very narrow region where the car might slow down faster than engine braking in any car.

Then my brake lights would almost never come on except for at the very end of a stop.

- - - Updated - - -

One thing I've got to say simply because it bothers me so much and has for some time. I've been a cyclist for most of my life and moved to N. California later in life, and generally speaking the cycling population around here is downright obnoxious. They have a huge sense of entitlement, think they own the road, don't care how their actions affect others, and think the rules of the road don't apply to them. Rated as a group if they were drivers they'd probably be in the bottom 10%. So, when one of them gets hit (or in this case runs into somebody else) I'm always suspicious as to what they were doing or not doing that contributed to the incident. This kind of behavior is exhibited by cyclists all over the North Bay every day, impeding traffic and taking offense when their obnoxious, selfish behavior is pointed out, they just usually don't get hit for it.

I think everyone who feels the way you do should ride a bike on whatever road you get an offense by a cyclist and see for yourself if their behavior is obnoxious or defensive.

 

[esk8mw]

One thing I've got to say simply because it bothers me so much and has for some time. I've been a cyclist for most of my life and moved to N. California later in life, and generally speaking the cycling population around here is downright obnoxious. They have a huge sense of entitlement, think they own the road, don't care how their actions affect others, and think the rules of the road don't apply to them. Rated as a group if they were drivers they'd probably be in the bottom 10%. So, when one of them gets hit (or in this case runs into somebody else) I'm always suspicious as to what they were doing or not doing that contributed to the incident. This kind of behavior is exhibited by cyclists all over the North Bay every day, impeding traffic and taking offense when their obnoxious, selfish behavior is pointed out, they just usually don't get hit for it.

Yes. This is a huge problem in Chicago as well. Cyclists here generally (yes, not all, probably 75% or so) simply do not obey the rules of the road. I walk several miles a day through downtown every day so my sample size is enormous. Blow through stop signs, red lights, don't yield for pedestrians, ride on the sidewalks when there's a dedicated bike lane, ride the wrong way on streets, you name it. Don't even get me started on the entitlement. I'm all for sharing the road, just follow the same rules we do. And face the same consequences for failure to follow these rules...

 

[WMAC]

Yes. This is a huge problem in Chicago as well. Cyclists here generally (yes, not all, probably 75% or so) simply do not obey the rules of the road. I walk several miles a day through downtown every day so my sample size is enormous. Blow through stop signs, red lights, don't yield for pedestrians, ride on the sidewalks when there's a dedicated bike lane, ride the wrong way on streets, you name it. Don't even get me started on the entitlement. I'm all for sharing the road, just follow the same rules we do. And face the same consequences for failure to follow these rules...

Oh boy, here it comes <rolls eyes>. 75% of the time you see a cyclist, they are breaking the law?

 

[dmckinstry]

Oh boy, here it comes <rolls eyes>. 75% of the time you see a cyclist, they are breaking the law?

Did you mean to have a smiley on that?

He said 75% of cyclists, not 75% of the time, and it wasn't implied the 75% were doing so all the time.

 

[Canuck]

I do a lot of driving on a windy mountain road to my cabin, over two mountain passes, often one lane only each way, and my brake lights come on far more often than needed, especially when entering corners after straight stretches. It really bothers me since the people behind me, unless they know about regenerative braking, must be thinking I'm really riding the brakes, yet I never touch them at all. Sure, I could do it without them coming on as much, but then I have to drive a lot slower so that's no answer. The little (practically useless) toy car in our non-AP "classic" cars, that appeared in our dash with 7.0, shows us when the brake lights come on (hence the word "practically" useless since it allows us to see the brake lights without having to hit the battery icon like the old days) -- and it's far too much, and most often not needed, at least in my opinion.

 

[chriSharek]

I think it's smart for the brake lights to come on, you're decelerating, the person behind you needs to know. If you want to coast, keep the power meter at 0kw.

You clearly have never driven a manual transmission. No brakelights when you're downshifting since the origin of transmission!

How about people simply take responsibility for themselves and stop if the car in front of you slows down - lights or not?!

I remind my 16 yo son that just started driving, "the downhill skier always has the right of way." Simple as that.

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I'll say it again. Regen brakes lights are stupid. There's only a very narrow region where the car might slow down faster than engine braking in any car.

Agreed. Manual transmissions downshifting certainly slow down as fast, or faster, without brakelights, than EVs.

 

[Barry]

I've biked that road with my daughter (who lives in SF). It's a scary ride - narrow road, a fair number of cars, and no bike lane. I told her not the kind of ride for me - I prefer a bike lane or shoulder!

 

[AudubonB]

Regenerative braking causes road rage incident/reckless driving conviction

Now, there's an inflammatory headline. Unless the OP had some source of information for this incident other than the SJ Mercury-C as cited, I cannot find anything to lead anyone to think that regen braking was a causal factor. The closest I could come in a thread-head that uses that term would be the milquetoast "Road-rager's attorney mentions regenerative braking when describing his client's actions".

However, then this thread might not have lasted through 33 posts.

 

[Electroman]

I don't get this. The cyclists tailgated and rear-ended. But the cyclist was let go scott free and the car driver was charged with misdemeanor ? What if the Tesla guy had said, I had to slow momentarily because there was some debris on the road that I had to maneuver? What if the Tesla guy never knew someone hit him?

This is so ridiculous. Unless someone slams their brakes they shouldn't be charged.

 

[AudubonB]

Not necessarily. Although under almost all circumstances the presumption of guilt is on the following vehicle - either following too closely or inattention - there are exceptions and the most notable one is where a passing vehicle turns back into the lane in such a fashion as to make a collision from behind inevitable. From the article and from the corroborating posts by persons who have described that tortuous road, that appears to be exactly the situation here. Leaving the scene of the accident is an additive factor.

 

[McRat]

I don't get this. The cyclists tailgated and rear-ended. But the cyclist was let go scott free and the car driver was charged with misdemeanor ? What if the Tesla guy had said, I had to slow momentarily because there was some debris on the road that I had to maneuver? What if the Tesla guy never knew someone hit him?

This is so ridiculous. Unless someone slams their brakes they shouldn't be charged.

If you are driving your car, and I swerve in front of you and mash my brakes, you WILL hit me. Guaranteed. Not even autobraking would save you. It's a physics thing, I'm already decelerating at a high rate and moving slower when I do it. And I have sticky tires and insane 60-0mph ability which is only normally used on the track. The thought of doing it to anybody has not crossed my mind in 40 years and over a million miles.

You don't plead guilty to what amounts to drunk driving ticket (Reckless) if you are driving lawfully.

The driver is most likely a liar, and the prosecutor and judge most likely saw evidence of it, as did his own attorney.

He got a smoking deal. I'd max road rage sentences to include a revocation of license.

People who want to use their cars as weapons do not belong behind the wheel.

 

[Max*]

You clearly have never driven a manual transmission.

You're clearly just instigating. I only drove manual for about a decade.

 

[shrspeedblade]

While not on this specific road, I have ridden thousands of miles on roads just like it. THAT is why I'm so disgusted with it- it's so blatantly obnoxious (not to mention stupidly dangerous and often illegal!)

Then my brake lights would almost never come on except for at the very end of a stop.

- - - Updated - - -

I think everyone who feels the way you do should ride a bike on whatever road you get an offense by a cyclist and see for yourself if their behavior is obnoxious or defensive.

 

[WMAC]

Did you mean to have a smiley on that?

He said 75% of cyclists, not 75% of the time, and it wasn't implied the 75% were doing so all the time.

100% of drivers break traffic laws, where's the outrage?

 

[AWDtsla]

100% of drivers break traffic laws, where's the outrage?

I am outraged, at the continuous peril every driver is in because of politically motivated speed limits.