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by rjmunro 887 days ago
I find I am more likely to crash in a Tesla than in other cars because it's much harder to keep a constant speed, so I have to focus on the speedometer a lot more. There are 2 reasons for this. The regenerative braking is hard to get used to, but the bigger problem is the lack of a speed limiter function.

I can engage the cruise control & even autopilot on highways, but on local roads I get loads of random phantom breaking events. The lane markings are not great and often there are cycle lanes, bus stops etc. The car will see a pedestrian walking along the side of the road and slam on the brakes. Or a cyclist. Sometimes it just suddenly slows for no apparent reason. I end up looking down at the screen to see what it thinks it's seeing, and slamming on the accelerator to make sure I get back up to speed.

In my ICE car or the Nissan Leaf I sometimes use, I can set the speed limit to 30 or 20 as appropriate and then just drive foot to the floor and know I'll just drive at that speed. When I have to slow down for a cyclist or whatever I just release the pedal, maybe use the brake, then accelerate again and I am still fine.

I do wish the cars would be able to set the speed limiter based on the current speed limit from the maps in the SatNav. The Tesla can use this for the cruise control, meaning you are unexpectedly accelerated when you reach a faster section of road, and you have to tap the brakes to regain control, cancelling the whole mode you were driving in, and putting you immediately into regenerative braking, even if you just want to keep the same speed.

1 comments

Or just a simple toggle "keep this speed, let me take of everything else" option.

It's great when tech-assist features work. I look forward to the day that do reliably. Until then (and frankly, even if then), they absolutely need ways to toggle them off, with granularity. Smart features shouldn't replace "dumb" features, just augment/build atop them.

No. I want a speed limiter, something that means I can drive freely and worry about my high speed, not something that keeps the car going even when I take my foot off the gas.

I mean, I guess that might be better than Tesla's randomly slowing down then unexpectedly accelerating again mess, but a simple limiter is far better. The Tesla even has one, but you can't activate it or change it's speed except by going into the valet menu and assigning a PIN. It needs to be adjustable while you are driving with the controls on or around the wheel so that you can set it when the speed limit changes.

That falls under what I commented with regard to having more granular control of said smart features.