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Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

arstechnica.com

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Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#81

Post by jacquesm »

ics wrote: post #73
jacquesm wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like there is a lot of commonality between the two cases that I had and the ones that you have experienced. My car was a Mercedes Benz C class July 2014 issue. The AEB relies on a lot of gear supplied by Bosch (I dug into it a bit to see if it could be disabled without surgery but that wasn't possible). Maybe Mazda has the same unit? (it sits behind the front license plate and there is a camera behind the…

I'm not sure of the exact sensor. There is a little more info on it here for example ( https://www.mazdausa.com/static/manuals/2021/mazda3/contents... ) but I can confirm the sensor placement is the same behind the windscreen, the lower one I think is by the badge. I wish they'd just made dashcam a standard feature instead and forget about trying to throw me through the windshield for shits and giggles.

Ok, looks like a different sensor then, the MB unit uses Radar and optical.

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#82

Post by ics »

nradov wrote: post #76
ics wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wrote up a long comment that got scrapped by my focus filter but I feel the need to voice strong agreement here. I have a recent Mazda which in almost all ways is my perfect car except for the newfangled safety features all new cars seem to have. Lane correction and emergency braking, even set to the lowest sensitivity levels, are bad to outright dangerous in city (and some country) driving. In NYC it's common to h…

If you haven't already done so, please file a formal safety defect complaint with the NHTSA with details on that bridge incident. Once the regulators receive enough similar complaints they will open a formal investigation and potentially issue a recall. https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem

Good idea, thanks for the link!

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#83

Post by xattt »

ics wrote: post #50
jacquesm wrote: post #6

This almost got me into a serious accident, twice. Definitely would not recommend and I switched cars because of it. The last thing I need is buggy software with the capability of instantly changing the trajectory of my vehicle (slippery surfaces, cornering). A brand car as well (MB) so really, really disappointed, what should have been a safety feature actually was the opposite. Dealer said everything was fine so th…

I wrote up a long comment that got scrapped by my focus filter but I feel the need to voice strong agreement here. I have a recent Mazda which in almost all ways is my perfect car except for the newfangled safety features all new cars seem to have. Lane correction and emergency braking, even set to the lowest sensitivity levels, are bad to outright dangerous in city (and some country) driving. In NYC it's common to h…

I had AEB trigger going through a mini-roundabout in rainy weather as another vehicle was yielding to me. I also had an AEB alert when fresh snow was flying off the front grill just after I started driving for the day. This is on a 2021 Sorento.

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#84

Post by ghostpepper »

peter422 wrote: post #49
jacquesm wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Insurance companies are run by people that are good at statistics, and there is a fair chance that statistically this works out well but that does not mean anything for any particular individual. Chances are that EAB will cause some accidents and prevents a whole lot more, and that's enough for the insurers.

Every possible change to a car’s safety system will cause some deaths and save others… look at airbags. The aggregate stats are the most important things to look at, especially for something like AEB which has the ability to save pedestrians, which as of late are getting mowed down more and more frequently.

There needs to be a tiered license then - if you pass the more rigorous exam you can drive cars without the extra "safety" features. Making AEB mandatory would increase the survival rate of poor drivers and punish people who actually pay attention on the road.

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#85

Post by brookst »

jacquesm wrote: post #6

This almost got me into a serious accident, twice. Definitely would not recommend and I switched cars because of it. The last thing I need is buggy software with the capability of instantly changing the trajectory of my vehicle (slippery surfaces, cornering). A brand car as well (MB) so really, really disappointed, what should have been a safety feature actually was the opposite. Dealer said everything was fine so th…

I had an Audi that would emergency brake on the freeway if it was raining and there was a semi in the next lane. Terrifying.

Now I drive another car that will hit the brakes in parking garages when going around corners if cars have backed in and I am going 5mph or more. I've learned to drive 4mph in parking garages.

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#86

Post by ghostpepper »

randomfinn wrote: post #78
mkmk wrote: post #19

This feature once saved me from what would have otherwise been a very nasty crash, many years ago. I was driving too fast in a borrowed car over a small hill and hadn't realized that traffic had stopped just out of my sight until too late. I heard a beep and saw flashing on my dash and I started braking but a moment later the emergency braking system kicked in, braking much harder than I would have been able to. The…

> braking much harder than I would have been able to Any idea why you weren't able to apply full brakes? I remember reading that most people don't in an emergency and that's why the emergency brake boost was created, but haven't seen the reason for it.

Maybe people who learned to drive on pre-ABS cars?

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#87

Post by labcomputer »

taeric wrote: post #25

I confess that I find a dark humor in how many self professed "great drivers" find these features a nuisance. All the while so many people are completely unaware that they have these, as they have never activated. Hard for me to square those pegs in a favorable way. Which, yes, being a great driver means you may be pushing close to limits while still be completely under control a lot. I just don't have a strong prior…

I am reminded of the quote, often attributed to astronaut Frank Borman:

“Superior pilots use their superior judgement to avoid situations that require use of their superior skills”

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#88

Post by dabluecaboose »

maximinus_thrax wrote: post #32

Looking at the comments here I need to double check if I'm on some gearhead forum where automatic transmission is considered appropriate exclusively for teenagers and geriatric patients. Anyway, I'll add my anecdote when my Toyota surprised me with a panic brake in a blind corner which probably saved my life by not ending up under a stopped bus. But the kicker is that my insurer gave me quite a steep discount when I…

It's not exclusively a "gearhead" opinion to not want a system in your car that can violently take control away from you unexpectedly

Statistics are meaningless to the individual. Sure, emergency braking might be safer across the board, but that means little compared to an individual who already drives safely without it.

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#89

Post by m463 »

randomfinn wrote: post #78
mkmk wrote: post #19

This feature once saved me from what would have otherwise been a very nasty crash, many years ago. I was driving too fast in a borrowed car over a small hill and hadn't realized that traffic had stopped just out of my sight until too late. I heard a beep and saw flashing on my dash and I started braking but a moment later the emergency braking system kicked in, braking much harder than I would have been able to. The…

> braking much harder than I would have been able to Any idea why you weren't able to apply full brakes? I remember reading that most people don't in an emergency and that's why the emergency brake boost was created, but haven't seen the reason for it.

I suspect it's more like people brake at first like a startle reflex, but they only brake really hard once their brain does the calculus and full panic sets in. Then they can bend the brake pedal.

Re: Automatic emergency braking should become mandatory, feds say

#90

Post by Am4TIfIsER0ppos »

dboreham wrote: post #5
sidewndr46 wrote: post #3

I have never understood how this would work in the real world. If my car automatically brakes, I would just get cutoff by other drivers constantly until my car comes to a complete stop in the roadway.

You're thinking of adaptive cruise control. Automatic breaking only activates when you're about to crash.

My mother reports that feature as really bothersome in a new Land Rover. So much that she just doesn't engage the cruise control.
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