Teslas creating traffic jams?
 

Just a bit.

Don't know if anyone else has noticed, but it appears when cruising with the Autopilot engaged, Tesla brake lights go on and off every few seconds. I am assuming this is the system making speed adjustments by applying the brake. However, this is causing a lot of other affects that apparently Tesla did not put much thought into. Everytime these brake lights go on while the car is at speed on the highway, it triggers those following behind to also brake. We have all been trained to look ahead for brake lights and anticipate a slowdown or hazard. Well here, we have braking going on for nothing, and causing a chain reaction of others to slow down. This of course, slows traffic and can even be the beginnings of a traffic jam (traffic jams almost always start with brake lights or an imbalance of speed).

Another negative effect is these ghost brake lights may also get the attention of the highway patrol. It appears odd, inconsistent, and could signal to an officer a person may be driving under the influence, distracted, or not paying attention. Waste of police resources when they find out it was the cruise control.

So, the question is, should these cruise control systems regulate car speed without activating brake lights? I would say yes, especially when they are very minor speed adjustments like I have witnessed. Do other cars have the same lighting feature? I have never seen this take place other than on Teslas. I am always for the free and safe flow of traffic, and it pisses me off Tesla did not have the diligence to realize what false braking cause.

The brake lights come on in my GS and Highlander when I'm using DRCC if something more than a little coasting is required to slow down to the required speed.

I had a feeling others may do the same. But when I've observed the Tesla's lights come on, it has always been when it's in the fast lane with no other cars in front of it. Car is just cruising with no obstructions or reasons to make major speed changes. I think that is excessive. It is more alerting when you are following far behind, looking way up the road for a slowdown, and you see brake lights. Only to discover there was nothing worth stealing your attention.

As I mentioned above, brake lights are the beginning causes of traffic jams. If we have more and more cars throwing up false braking, there will be more slowing from behind. We need to create things that help increase the flow of traffic. Cell phone usage (not paying attention) and these ghost brake light readings are making things worse.

The lights come on when the regen hits a certain level. Only time I use the brakes on my wife's Model 3 is to come to a complete stop

^^^ this.....

Test drove a friend's M3 for an hour yesterday and tried out AP for the first time. I used traditional cruise control maybe 5x in 25 years of driving and hated it. After the initial sweaty palms and nervousness, I looked for every opportunity to engage AP on the freeway because it actually is enjoyable to use and works very well. Above posters are correct about brake lights. I was curious if regen activates brake lights to warn drivers behind you and the Model 3 display shows a representation of the car itself and every time you let off the "gas pedal" the onscreen car's brake lights also illuminate! Pretty nifty.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...7158299b32.jpg

^^ perhaps you meant model 3 not m3 :D

anyway... brake lights may be annoying but this would be more worrisome :yikes:


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...65ff74b7a.jpeg

I`d rather take an indication of speed reduction then have a vehicle in front of me slow down without any notice all in the name of preventing traffic jams lol

Yikes, that is too much trust in the car. I am curious what was really happening though because the car has to sense at least one had on the wheel or else AP deactivates. I suppose the driver can sleep with one hand at the base of the wheel. With EVs, maybe they'll add a second smaller wheel or joystick in the future to allow passengers to take over the driving, sort of like driver's training where the instructor has a second set of brakes. Or maybe people just shouldn't sleep in the driver's seat.

I had to get used to the new acronyms too:
M3 (Model 3)
P3D (Performance Dual Motor Model 3)
MS (Model S)
MX (Model X)
MY ...you get it.

Ditto. I sometimes fear the person behind me isn't paying attention and will slam into me when I ease off the throttle in the LS; California drivers already follow too close.

I found the enhanced autopilot to be spotty in my wife's 3. I was on the freeway on Wednesday, very light traffic because it was midday, and I turned it on. Everything was fine for the most part, but there was a small area in the freeway (maybe 10 feet?) where the roads were rough and the lines disappeared. Her 3 jammed the brakes in two of those areas before I just turned off EAP. Definitely wouldn't find me sleeping like that idiot. Side note - just put a deposit down for a Y last night :D

Congrats! I am eagerly awaiting more news about the Y. Saw some videos of test rides last night. Incredible that most of the lineup has available 7-seating, including the Y!

No no no, Tesla actually prevents more traffic jams IMO because they leave the proper distance between vehicles -- which allows easy merging unlike most idiotic drivers that have no clue to leave a sizable gap.

What is really interesting is that the adaptive cruise on my Mercedes doesn't show brake lights even with what I feel to be decent brake pressure. I can tell because at night I dont see the reflection of the LED lights in the rear view. But yes, I agree with others that it might be the regen braking and not necessarily they are on auto pilot.

The latest electric cars now are capable of single pedal driving so no braking is used much of the time. The brake lights have to signal deceleration from the regenerative system or there will be many rear end collisions. This is not a unique Tesla issue, but they are by far the most numerous electric vehicles today. The Audi and Mercedes electrics will need to do the same thing.

It will when these idiots crash and kill themselves and others.