text: V8.0 Autopilot prevented a rear-end collision | Tesla Motors Club
  Thread starter Wineborg
  It happened last Friday afternoon when I drove to Pocono for the weekend. I was on Autopilot driving eastbound on I-78 (a 2-lane divided highway with grass median) near Allentown, a normal traffic flow at 65-70 mph on a 55mph zone. All of a sudden, my MX braked very hard with some rapid beeping sounds, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee in front of me swing to the grass median. My MX stopped less than 2 car length away from a Toyota in front and the Cherokee definitely would have hit the Toyota if it didn't go to the median. All these went so fast and I didn't have time to process what exactly happened until all came to stops.
  I just updated my MX to V8.0 the Friday before, and it worked flawlessly for me this time. Not sure what can happen if I was still on V7.1. Thanks Elon !!!
  Reactions: MitchMitch, Mattias, Roentgen and 84 others
  You should send your event details to Tesla, good real-world data, and I would assume a possible blog post !
  Glad this situation ended well for you.
  Reactions: FarmerDave and MP3Mike
  Would this be properly classified as Autopilot or the Automatic Emergency Braking System (AEBS)? The latter is on all the time, even for cars with AP hardware but without the Autopilot option. However, at least on versions prior to 8.0, AEBS would slow the car but not bring it to a complete stop.
  Would this work even if autopilot wasn't activated? I hope the media will report this (enough of the autopilot hate stories).
  I would assume that if AutoPilot (TACC & AutoSteer) was not activated, then the driver is using the accelerator. Then theoretically the AEB would help increase the braking power of the car which the driver would have to activate.
  Having driven with just TACC in heavy traffic, I would assume that the behavior would be the same as described by the OP.
  I do not know if Tesla's without AP have just regular Cruise Control (non-TACC). Either way I doubt regular Cruise Control would stop in this scenario without driver input and braking. So the scenario falls back to AEB helping to increase braking power for the driver, I assume.
  OP, Thanks for posting your experience!
  A non-AP car on cruise would have rear-ended the Toyota unless the driver was aware enough to follow the Cherokee.
  I guess an AP car on 7.1 would have locked to the Cherokee and followed it onto the median?
  A retweet from Elon as well... good news
  Reactions: Chopr147 and Lessmog
  vivekvinodh
  woah retweeted by Elon
  I usually try to keep enough distance so I can see the second next car in front of the car in front of me, in order to prevent something like this from killing me. That's not always possible though, so I'm looking forward to getting AP!
  Wineborg said:
  Why stopped the Tesla 2 car lengths away from the Toyota? (5 meters?)
  That space is missing now for the car behind the tesla.
  I think it would be safer when the braking ends in just couple of cm from the Toyota, giving the cars behind more room to stop as well in time.
  Im happy with the no damage result but i don't know this is the most optimal way for all the traffic around.
  As car behind a MX i proppely don't have the same braking performance, so it would be nice if they have also space to break, that actually can be created by tesla in the same time.
  Making the traffic for everybody a safer place and not only for tesla. but for everybody .
  I don't know if autopilot or the safety system can detect that the car behind is gonna rear-end you and move forward, but in any case, if it did not give enough distance to the Toyota, if the Tesla was rear-ended it would cause a chain collision as the Tesla would probably rear-end the Toyota and so on.
  Reactions: Gtoffo
  I believe this outcome is completely due to v.8.0 upgrade, which analyses the radar response to "see" under and beyond the vehicle directly in front. So that would be why AEBS could be applied before the driver could even see the braking Toyota.
  Eat that, Germany! And call it whatever ...
  Reactions: Roger_wilco, KaiserSoze and LST
  People should always leave enough braking distance for their car. It isn't up to software to decide if the car behind has the braking capability. If the car behind doesn't have the braking capability it should be further away.
  This is basic driving folks... leaving enough distance to stop in an emergency is the correct thing to do. It is poor driving style to tailgate or not leave enough braking distance. The fact that many people don't leave the space just means they are not very good drivers.
  Reactions: pchilds, FarmerDave, GotOne and 5 others
  It isn't up to software to decide if the car behind has the braking capability. If the car behind doesn't have the braking capability it should be further away.
  I totally agree with you that space between cars is a must and you must leave more space the higher the speed you are travelling.
  What I was asking is in the case that you have space in front of you, and there is a car coming behind you and it can't brake in time, will Tesla sensors detect this situation and drive your car forward?
  It's just a curiosity, I'm not saying they should.
  I don't believe it is set up to move forward. More of a braking assist.
  And would one say the Model X "auto" braked? Hmmmmmmmm
  Ahh I see.. In that situation the car will not move. The sensors on the back of the car are ultrasonic and cannot respond fast enough. Even if it could respond it would have to floor the acceleration and risk potential whiplash of the occupants. Rear ending the Tesla would also risk whiplash but I cannot see any sensible option for the car.
  As a software developer and someone who has a passing interest in machine learning, automated driving etc, I would never code a program that thinks it's ok to suddenly floor the accelerator. Imagine if it did that just as a pedestrian walked out (perhaps a dazed occupant of another vehicle?).
  Until the sensors are good enough to track the movement of every object around the car in realtime there is no way to avoid a rear-end collision like the one you are describing, in my opinion.
  Reactions: Chopr147 and JoaoD
  Logically, I would expect AEBS to kick in given the radar update with v8, presumably collision avoidance is applied to every tracked vehicle/object and this scenario seems a (relatively) trivial corollary programatically and computationally. I wonder if the MX stopped far short of the Toyota as it also tried to avoid the Grand Cherokee?
  I like the idea of the Tesla stopping earlier than it needs (where applicable). I did this consistently on the M25 around London. The following driver should see the threat earlier because the distance is shorter and if reactions are too late to avoid collision, it provides the opportunity to maneuver appropriately. I really like the inferred idea that a Tesla could set its speed in a pile up situation to balance the impact forces on the front and rear of the car. That would surely reduce fatalities and injuries.
  What did you do during the time your car was beeping and as you saw the grand Cherokee ditch into the median, and as your hurtled towards the corolla? I know it happened fast, but surely you had time to respond. I don't ask to be snarky, I'm just curious whether or not you took over, or if you let the car perform on its own.
  I've gotten the "beep beep beep" of an imminent collision before when not paying attention in stop and go traffic, and man, I was laying on that brake pedal immediately. I'm curios as to how you responded.
  Well, having been in a multi-car accident (where I was rear ended then driven forward into the stopped car in front of me), I prefer the extra space. Then if I do get rear ended by the guy behind, maybe I have enough sliding space to not rear end the car in front of me, reducing the overall damage. Odds are the few feet wouldn't give the guy in back enough time to not rear end me, but it might prevent a multi-car if he did.
  Reactions: Smokkelaar and Lessmog
  AutoPilot = TACC, Autosteer, AEB, BLIS, Autopark etc.
  Autosteer = Autosteer keeps the car in the current lane and engages Traffic-Aware Cruise Control
  If you disable all "Autopilot" functions under drive assistance systems it won't work. If you disable Autosteer it should still work.