Adaptive cruise hidden benefit

Would have been nice on the titanic

 

RadMobile!

 

A self driving car is utterly unappealing to me...

But I see now how it is gaining favor out there. People just seem to WANT to be a passive passenger at all times.

Just let someone else who wants to drive do the driving. - Maybe self driving cars WILL be needed before long at this rate!

 

Our driving tests are a joke compared to Europe.

 

Sorry to disappoint all the critics but I am not overdriving the conditions. That would mean I can't brake in time for unforeseen events and nothing in what I stated indicates that to be the situation. But I am avoiding the need to brake suddenly and risk being rear-ended. And as such I'm also not depending on a computer to avoid a collision as some have implied.

I'm guessing you've never experienced having the ACC take over - there's no "reduction" in throttle, it's full off and brakes are full on - there's no 'in-between'. Sure, it's the same sensors and data but it's not an adjustment in speed, it's full stop. Again, very dangerous under these conditions.

 

Many years ago I had significant apprehension about the advent of the 'fly-by-wire' systems becoming standard - most notably braking and steering. I've slowly come to appreciate non-skid braking while understanding that it doesn't mean I can't apply the brakes when it fails but I still want my steering wheel connected to the tires!

 

raining and spewing oil is a bad combination...

 

I see the Friday thread came early.

 

When traction becomes questionable, lose the "automatic pushes". People new to driving in snow think it is fun to "power through" a snow bank (like some Rivian drivers). You end up driving over the compacted base-snow and losing grip, pushing after you lose grip and spinning out. Same with deeper water ... pushing through puddles can hydroplane.

But letting the vehicle effectively "coast through" such obstacles allows natural loss of speed when it should occur.

OP: Adverse driving conditions are NOT the right time to have anything pushing-at-will or braking-without-thinking. The person at the wheel needs to be in charge.

 

Probably ... either that or this person is gen AA or gen BB or whatever it is now and learned to drive their battery-powered Hummer-replica on sidewalks in the neighborhood with daddy.

 

Dude, there is no way you can argue this and have it make sense. As "gentle" as the cruise is, your foot is more so. There is no reason why cruise should be on in adverse conditions. There is a reason why that is a "fail" condition on any driving exam within the 50 states. In no world can you argue that it is safer. It flat out is not safe. If you are braking hard, that is you overdriving your ability, by definition. If you are unable to brake gently by manual operation, then your speed is exceeding either your medical or visual ability. If you are unable to brake better than the cruise technology that is equipped on a Tacoma, then you are medically unfit to drive. If you can brake better than the cruise technology that is equipped on a Tacoma, then you should use the superior system (your foot) in bad weather, heavy traffic, large or frequent hills, while towing, or in an urban area with lots of cross-streets. There is no logical way to argue otherwise.

 

Well said!

Saves me from typing up an inferior reply.

 

What type of planes do you fly that are fly-by-wire?

 

Many planes crashed because pilots trusted the computers and fly-by-wire. Safety commissions around the world had to remind pilots that they are the real authority. Some never learned and were fired.

 

Interesting...I wasn't aware the Taco's traction control system was sophisticated enough to deal with that. Good to know. I too have experienced situations where the cruise wanted to accelerate far harder than I felt necessary or safe so I disengage it. I'm very curious now about how it will behave in a hydroplaning situation. Those above that have expressed concerns about that are correct, it could be a problem. I retrofitted an aftermarket cruise to a custom van I'd built in the early 70s and had it hyroplane once and there was a moment of panic when I considered I didn't want to tap the brakes to disengage it for fear of making the situation worse. I managed to turn it off manually but that took more time than I wanted in that moment. I need to research how the Taco will behave under those circumstances.

 

That's just an expression implying computers are controlling systems based on various inputs. I suppose I could say 'drive-by-wire' but the other expression has been around a lot longer than such systems in cars.

 

Many planes fly only through 'fly-by-wire' systems and many controls or even the entire plane can't be flown manually.

 

There is your problem right there.

Again

Over driving visibility and road conditions

but it is always sunny in Philidephia

 

Maybe some folks are such poor drivers that autonomous cars are a good thing.