VW Adaptive Cruise/Anti-Collision Radar - Nearly crashed!
Discussion
My Sons Company Golf does it. He really gets annoyed if he is on a Motorway and the car to the left drifts over when he overtakes. Also useless when you see a gap over your shoulder to pull out into and the damn thing brakes as you do it!!! It seems to be a safety feature aimed at MLM's.
I'm genuinely surprised by the people attacking the OP.
Assertions that the system is 'working as intended' or that the owner should 'read the manual' are very weak. Nobody should have to read the manual to know how their brakes work.
In my opinion, any car fitted with a system that can perform an unintended, unnecessary and unexpected emergency stop is a dangerous liability, however much the system thought it was doing the right thing.
Yes, you can pedantically argue that anyone who rear-ends the car should have been further back, but that's pretty irrelevant if the car performs an unexpected emergency stop that results in a crash. Even if an alert driver is following, a hard stop for no apparent reason is going to dramatically increase the risk of a crash.
The blanket adoption of systems like these are why I'm increasingly cynical about newer cars. I can drive my car myself, thanks.
Assertions that the system is 'working as intended' or that the owner should 'read the manual' are very weak. Nobody should have to read the manual to know how their brakes work.
In my opinion, any car fitted with a system that can perform an unintended, unnecessary and unexpected emergency stop is a dangerous liability, however much the system thought it was doing the right thing.
Yes, you can pedantically argue that anyone who rear-ends the car should have been further back, but that's pretty irrelevant if the car performs an unexpected emergency stop that results in a crash. Even if an alert driver is following, a hard stop for no apparent reason is going to dramatically increase the risk of a crash.
The blanket adoption of systems like these are why I'm increasingly cynical about newer cars. I can drive my car myself, thanks.
NDNDNDND said:
I'm genuinely surprised by the people attacking the OP.
Assertions that the system is 'working as intended' or that the owner should 'read the manual' are very weak. Nobody should have to read the manual to know how their brakes work.
In my opinion, any car fitted with a system that can perform an unintended, unnecessary and unexpected emergency stop is a dangerous liability, however much the system thought it was doing the right thing.
Yes, you can pedantically argue that anyone who rear-ends the car should have been further back, but that's pretty irrelevant if the car performs an unexpected emergency stop that results in a crash. Even if an alert driver is following, a hard stop for no apparent reason is going to dramatically increase the risk of a crash.
The blanket adoption of systems like these are why I'm increasingly cynical about newer cars. I can drive my car myself, thanks.
Absolutely spot on. The OP writes like a normal, sane person. The fact that he's gone to the effort of making a post on here would suggest to any reasonable person that the car's behaviour was unexpected and not in accordance with what a human would have done, or expected. It's typical of attitudes on PH that a number of people are instead implying that the OP must be some sort of tailgating maniac.Assertions that the system is 'working as intended' or that the owner should 'read the manual' are very weak. Nobody should have to read the manual to know how their brakes work.
In my opinion, any car fitted with a system that can perform an unintended, unnecessary and unexpected emergency stop is a dangerous liability, however much the system thought it was doing the right thing.
Yes, you can pedantically argue that anyone who rear-ends the car should have been further back, but that's pretty irrelevant if the car performs an unexpected emergency stop that results in a crash. Even if an alert driver is following, a hard stop for no apparent reason is going to dramatically increase the risk of a crash.
The blanket adoption of systems like these are why I'm increasingly cynical about newer cars. I can drive my car myself, thanks.
If the OP didn't expect the car to perform an emergency stop, then the car behind wouldn't either. Maybe everyone else is a saint, but very normal reasonable drivers would probably hit someone from behind if they unexpectedly performed an emergency stop... that is how "cash for crash" works!
I would be extremely pissed off if I had hit the OP from behind in this situation (because it would count as my fault) and this report makes me again consider getting a dash cam.
duckers26 said:
Also have a MK7 Golf and a plastic bag blew across the sensor and stuck to the front of the car. Emergency stop and the seatbelts pretensioned which was interesting. Very close to being hit from behind. Normally works perfectly though.
But that's a terrible flaw. Really rather frightening. It strikes me that a computer that genuinely thinks a plastic bag is a viable reason to emergency brake just isn't at all appropriate to be in use. kambites said:
Surely everyone who passes their driving test these days activates the ABS on the emergency stop?
What's more worrying in a way is that you can pass your test in a car where you can just mash the brake as hard as you like and still steer; and then drive car without ABS.
Actually, no. There's a big issue with regular drivers that even during emergency stops, they just don't brake hard enough.What's more worrying in a way is that you can pass your test in a car where you can just mash the brake as hard as you like and still steer; and then drive car without ABS.
Hence why Bosch have developed Brake Assist so that in the event of a collision the brake system primes itself (with sensors) so that when the driver does apply, it fills in the gap to make sure it stops on its nose.
I nearly had a big accident because of this technology in a volvo hire car.
Was in Lane 1 of a motorway with a lorry rather close behind me. As a car overtakes and pulls in front of me a bit too close the car performs an emergency stop nearly causing the lorry to pile in to me.
A rather brown trouser moment.
Was in Lane 1 of a motorway with a lorry rather close behind me. As a car overtakes and pulls in front of me a bit too close the car performs an emergency stop nearly causing the lorry to pile in to me.
A rather brown trouser moment.
I don't think adaptive is smart enough yet. I stopped using it on my wife's Golf R as I didn't like the way it slowed you down too much when the car in front turned left, especially turning off on along bending slip road to motorway services etc. It still 'sees' the car and doesn't realise it's turning so applies the brakes. The instance of rubbish flying into the sensor is also worrying. Maybe I didn't use it enough to get used to its quirks but I think they need cameras as well as the blind radar to work more effectively.
Little Lofty said:
I don't think adaptive is smart enough yet. I stopped using it on my wife's Golf R as I didn't like the way it slowed you down too much when the car in front turned left, especially turning off on along bending slip road to motorway services etc. It still 'sees' the car and doesn't realise it's turning so applies the brakes. The instance of rubbish flying into the sensor is also worrying. Maybe I didn't use it enough to get used to its quirks but I think they need cameras as well as the blind radar to work more effectively.
Can you use normal cruise with the sensor turned off?I've had Range Rovers, a Jeep and now a Golf R with Adaptive Cruise and never had an issue with it.
Sure, the Anti-Collision feature can't tell if a car is turning left or right but it is very rare that I see the red warning light and it has only once initiated braking - not dramatically either.
The Cruise Control feature can be standard or radar and I prefer the radar - you adjust the distance you want between yourself and the car in front and away you go. No problem, works perfectly.
The Jeep's was more aggressive but even that was fine.
Sure, the Anti-Collision feature can't tell if a car is turning left or right but it is very rare that I see the red warning light and it has only once initiated braking - not dramatically either.
The Cruise Control feature can be standard or radar and I prefer the radar - you adjust the distance you want between yourself and the car in front and away you go. No problem, works perfectly.
The Jeep's was more aggressive but even that was fine.
I've never driven a car with this technology, but a friend had a few instances on a new (at the time) Golf Mk7 where this system seemed get a little confused when he was overtaking cars on gently sweeping motorway curves.
I suppose if it saves you having an accident once, then it's worth putting up with a few foibles.
I suppose if it saves you having an accident once, then it's worth putting up with a few foibles.
I commute 500 miles a week on mostly motorway, and I use the ACC on my Mk7 Golf all the time. I've never had an issue with it and it hasn't been wrong-footed once.
I can't speak for the emergency braking assist as it has never once activated on me.
I can't speak for the emergency braking assist as it has never once activated on me.
Edited by ClockworkCupcake on Sunday 24th January 13:56
IanCress said:
I've only had it activate once in the Volvo, when entering a mini roundabout with a car coming across my path. I judged it so it would be close, but my car activated the brakes as I entered the roundabout. It certainly didn't do a full stop though as it released the brakes a split second later once the car had cleared my path.
There are lots of situations similar to this where software simply cannot get close to what a human can think or predict. Other similar comments above too. All makes me very sceptical of the self-driving cars, where even more is automated.It's useful where humans make a bad error though, which does happen of course.
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