Automatic emergency braking from today

[y0rkiebar]

I am ticked off by my wife for the same reason but wth.

V8

Out of interest, what is her objection to you indicating ? Wearing out the bulb / LED ?

[Lootman]

I am ticked off by my wife for the same reason but wth.

V8

Out of interest, what is her objection to you indicating ? Wearing out the bulb / LED ?

I would guess either the annoying ticking sound it makes or else V8 elbows his wife in the ribs every time he operates it.

[bungeejumper]

What winds me up is people who do not indicate on roundabouts.. I am supposed to guess whether they are going to turn off, go round... it winds me up less if I am driving my old Land Rover as they tend to stop when our paths cross.

If there's one thng that life has taught me, it's tha the signalling behaviour of other people on roundabouts is no kind of guide as to what they're actually going to do. When the "straight ahead" direction is at a 220 degree angle, some will call it a right turn, some will say it doesn't require a signal at all, and a few old-school types will signal left from the moment they enter the roundabout, which will probably confuse everybody.

No, the only way to judge another driver's intended direction is to look at his steering line on the road, then adjust according to his speed and his angle of body-roll, and finally count the number of bent panels on his car before deciding whether to believe any signals he might (or might not) be giving. Good luck to any self-driving algorithm that can read that little lot any better than my 58 years' worth of survival experience have given me.

BJ

[DrFfybes]

I find even ABS braking makes me feel very uncomfortable when it cuts in.

It should. It is telling you that you have been driving very badly indeed and should seriously consider surrendering your license.

Harsh, but not entirely different to my first thought, although perhaps the regularity of it ocurring is not as high as suggested.

I think I've only had ABS kick in once when exiting a wet roundabout going straight ahead in lane 1 on a dual carraigeway, the person in lane 2 who came alongside me entering the roundabout obviously decided he'd cleared me and decided that he wanted to exit in lane 1. There was no turning to my left so I really had to still be there.

I also last locked the wheels of a non ABS car about a decade ago on a wet A road, when an oncoming truck decided to park in a layby on my left with no warning or indication. That was fun.

Paul

[Urbandreamer]

It should. It is telling you that you have been driving very badly indeed and should seriously consider surrendering your license.

Harsh, but not entirely different to my first thought, although perhaps the regularity of it ocurring is not as high as suggested.

To be fair I did have a car that the ABS operated at incredibly low speeds and gentle braking, in winter. No doubt I should have fitted winter tyres.

FWIW, I'm planning to buy a car that historically was horrid in winter. A software change has apparently made things a bit better, but I suspect that I'll need winter tyres (and wheels).

[bungeejumper]

FWIW, I'm planning to buy a car that historically was horrid in winter. A software change has apparently made things a bit better, but I suspect that I'll need winter tyres (and wheels).

Naaah, you'll never find tyres and wheels for a Morris Marina.

BJ

[Mike4]

I am still admonished for indicating when there is no one to indicate to ...

I am ticked off by my wife for the same reason but wth.

What winds me up is people who do not indicate on roundabouts.. I am supposed to guess whether they are going to turn off, go round... it winds me up less if I am driving my old Land Rover as they tend to stop when our paths cross.

V8

Same here. Drivers who don't indicate on roundabouts are however, broadcasting to the world they are self-absorbed and have no awareness or concern for the drivers and other people around them so one needs to take this into account when near them.

The other thing that grinds my gears is cars on the motorway with their right indicator permanently on.

Better than hazard lights though, I suppose!

Just!

[DrFfybes]

FWIW, I'm planning to buy a car that historically was horrid in winter. A software change has apparently made things a bit better, but I suspect that I'll need winter tyres (and wheels).

Naaah, you'll never find tyres and wheels for a Morris Marina.

BJ

They were fine in winter - just needed a coule of bags of sand in the boot. At the time I always wondered why my dad had 2 crates of Vimto in his Capri boot.

[bungeejumper]

Naaah, you'll never find tyres and wheels for a Morris Marina.

They were fine in winter - just needed a coule of bags of sand in the boot. At the time I always wondered why my dad had 2 crates of Vimto in his Capri boot.

I once drove my mate's Marina home from a party in 1970s Birmingham, at his wife's request, after he got too drunk to take the wheel himself. There were two inches of fresh lying snow on the ground, and it was one of the most reckless things I ever did. Even at 10 mph! Not for nothing were they known as the Wounded Whale.

BJ

[monabri]

The "collision detection" has kicked in once in my A6 when the car in the right hand lane pulled over into my lane to negotiate a roundabout at speed. The car sensed a possible collision and braked quite sharply. However, the 'feature ' that I always switch off is lane departure. Having the wheel fight back is not a pleasant experience. If I could disable it permanently, I would.

[monabri]

They were fine in winter - just needed a coule of bags of sand in the boot. At the time I always wondered why my dad had 2 crates of Vimto in his Capri boot.

I once drove my mate's Marina home from a party in 1970s Birmingham, at his wife's request, after he got too drunk to take the wheel himself. There were two inches of fresh lying snow on the ground, and it was one of the most reckless things I ever did. Even at 10 mph! Not for nothing were they known as the Wounded Whale.

BJ

My mum bought a Marina...the worse car she ever owned. The thing would not go into third gear! ( a new car). As for scariest....the 70's Skoda Estelle, rear engine just like a Porsche...( ) but without any technology/ design to prevent the rear end from breaking out unexpectedly .

Neither Marina nor Estelle like early morning starts. Come to think of it, neither liked starting - their only in built safety system !

[bungeejumper]

My mum bought a Marina...the worse car she ever owned. The thing would not go into third gear! ( a new car).

Full price? Ouch. My part of Brum was full of Marinas, because the Longbridge Austin plant was just up the road, and employees could buy them at a 40% discount. Personally I wouldn't have had one if they'd made it 140%.

As for scariest....the 70's Skoda Estelle, rear engine just like a Porsche...( ) but without any technology/ design to prevent the rear end from breaking out unexpectedly.

Oh yes, we used to watch the Skoda racing at Castle Combe racing circuit. Mind you, they were the 130 rally jobs, which really were a bit special. They'd come a long way from the old cans that used to rattle around East Berlin in my student days.

Cue the old joke about how you double the value of a Skoda. Fill it with petrol.....

Neither Marina nor Estelle like early morning starts. Come to think of it, neither liked starting - their only in built safety system !

But, but, but.... they always told us that the Morris Marina (or rather, the identical Ital) was designed by Italians! Whereas in truth, somebody had waved the menu from a pizza restaurant in its general direction and they'd called the job done.

Happy days, sometimes.....

BJ

[Lootman]

The "collision detection" has kicked in once in my A6 when the car in the right hand lane pulled over into my lane to negotiate a roundabout at speed. The car sensed a possible collision and braked quite sharply. However, the 'feature ' that I always switch off is lane departure. Having the wheel fight back is not a pleasant experience. If I could disable it permanently, I would.

That's the thing. I can tolerate these features as long as they can be optionally disabled.

Out of curiosity what if anything would happen if you could permanently disable things like lane departure? Presumably there are people who know how to do that, even if only on the down low.

[y0rkiebar]

I can permanently disable active braking and lane departure in my Clio. I've left the lane departure on and set it to "mild", so it's not too grabby. Active braking is off though, don't want a false positive event kicking in and causing a real accident.

[jfgw]

We were crossing a road at a junction. I watched a car traveling as if it were to cross the junction quite fast.
Too fast to turn safely.
No indicator.
We started crossing.

Que screech of brakes. Car pulled up with an emergency stop. "Are you suicidal"?
NO! How was I to know that you intended to turn? Do you think all pedestrians are telepathic?

If you were already crossing, the driver should have given way anyway. That was true before the changes in The Highway Code. The difference now is that drivers should give way to pedestrians waiting to (or about to) cross.


Julian F. G. W.

[MuddyBoots]

As well as the issue of drivers (and other road users) not indicating properly, another bugbear relevant to the braking issue is tailgating and generally not allowing enough space between vehicles. We had to learn the official braking distances to pass the driving theory, but neglecting this rule leads to more need for braking in consequence. And it's most annoying on dual carriageways and motorways; when I do leave enough space for a decent safety margin, someone else often overtakes me and pulls into the space I've allowed. Leaving me with a decision whether to slow down and create a new space or to give in to everyone else breaking the rules.

[servodude]

As well as the issue of drivers (and other road users) not indicating properly, another bugbear relevant to the braking issue is tailgating and generally not allowing enough space between vehicles. We had to learn the official braking distances to pass the driving theory, but neglecting this rule leads to more need for braking in consequence. And it's most annoying on dual carriageways and motorways; when I do leave enough space for a decent safety margin, someone else often overtakes me and pulls into the space I've allowed. Leaving me with a decision whether to slow down and create a new space or to give in to everyone else breaking the rules.

Not a hard decision though

Fuds gotta fud
You shouldn't let them affect your correct technique, much better to be a safe than indignant, correct and at risk

as someone once, sort of, put it "having right of way counts for little if you end up dead".

[88V8]

I've left the lane departure on and set it to "mild", so it's not too grabby.

Oop North, that setting is Brown & Mild.

V8

[Gerry557]

Its worse than that!

Recently traded for a Swedish made vehicle, lovely car but my Lord the automatic "back seat driver" is taking some adjustment to.

Last week I was on my way home turning off a long straight onto a long slip road with no speed change required, doing 60 with no traffic I had the temerity of not indicating (as per my training - who are you indicating to?).

Bad mistake, the thing tried to kill me by wrenching the steering back, braking and heading towards a large oak on the margin between the slip road and the road. Luckily I had a good grip of the wheel and kept it on the slip road. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader as to what the police report might have said if I had hit the tree.

I came to a (very sweaty) halt with the driver display grandly announcing it had saved me! Yes you can turn the thing off, but its a couple of screens down the driver interface, and it switched on again on restart.

Considering my options....

I think this is a similar example of the Airbus crash. The technology was doing its thing just not what the pilot wanted. Boeing have decided not to bother the pilots with trivia like new technology, its that's been fitted in secret. Strangely a couple of fatal crashes later and the pilots know all about it. So do the papers, the insurance, the unions and the shareholders.

Maybe I will need a couple of week training on my next vehicle before I can drive it

[redsturgeon]

Just got a brand new 2024 car and I about to go through the menu to see what I can turn off.