# Passing trucks on highway



## Mikeyy (3 mo ago)

Anyone else concerned how close Tesla car feels to trucks on highway when passing the truck? Do you just trust the space? Any close calls?


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## Luvtordrive (7 mo ago)

LOL, I hear ya Mikeyy! At first when using AP it does feel that way but then I realize that the car does a better job of staying in the center of the lane than I can (especially at night and in rainy conditions)!


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

The center of the lane is often NOT the best place to be.

IMHO AP needs a user-adjustable left-to-right offset adjustment.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

On a four-lane highway that's bending to the right, my car will often get too close to the left dotted line when I'm in the right lane.
The autopilot display will even show it being much closer to the left line than the right one.


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

I think that the car is in the correct place. Too many drivers have a tendency to move away from the truck. On 3+ lanes, they are moving into the next lane. 
Think of it this way, how far is safe? It's generally the distance representing the time it takes you to react. Trust me, the car can run circles around your reaction time, and I've seen it do it. 

I'm sure others may think that you are too close to the truck as well, because you're reaction times are faster than theirs.


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## DocScott (Mar 6, 2019)

Ed Woodrick said:


> I think that the car is in the correct place. Too many drivers have a tendency to move away from the truck. On 3+ lanes, they are moving into the next lane.
> Think of it this way, how far is safe? It's generally the distance representing the time it takes you to react. Trust me, the car can run circles around your reaction time, and I've seen it do it.
> 
> I'm sure others may think that you are too close to the truck as well, because you're reaction times are faster than theirs.


I'd like that line of reasoning if I saw more evidence that Teslas on AP react to a vehicle in a neighboring lane encroaching. 

If a car _ahead_ of mine drifts into my lane, then sure, TACC reacts and slows down. But I've never had my car shift left if a car is encroaching from the right (or vice-versa). I can't think of seeing convincing videos of that behavior, either. If you know of one, please share the link...


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

DocScott said:


> I'd like that line of reasoning if I saw more evidence that Teslas on AP react to a vehicle in a neighboring lane encroaching.
> 
> If a car _ahead_ of mine drifts into my lane, then sure, TACC reacts and slows down. But I've never had my car shift left if a car is encroaching from the right (or vice-versa). I can't think of seeing convincing videos of that behavior, either. If you know of one, please share the link...


I've had it happen to me a few times. 
While not the same thing, it's now moving left for pedestrians or bikes on the right side of the road.


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## StillaYankee (3 mo ago)

Ed Woodrick said:


> I've had it happen to me a few times.
> While not the same thing, it's now moving left for pedestrians or bikes on the right side of the road.


Mine actually pulls slightly TOWARDS pedestrians & bike riders! No lie, I can feel it in the steering wheel & passengers have noticed it & thought I was the one doing it, not the car!


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## StillaYankee (3 mo ago)

DocScott said:


> I'd like that line of reasoning if I saw more evidence that Teslas on AP react to a vehicle in a neighboring lane encroaching.
> 
> If a car _ahead_ of mine drifts into my lane, then sure, TACC reacts and slows down. But I've never had my car shift left if a car is encroaching from the right (or vice-versa). I can't think of seeing convincing videos of that behavior, either. If you know of one, please share the link...


With my 3, when on AP & a car either drifts in front of me or crosses an intersection several hundred yards ahead, the car slams on the brakes like it's avoiding impact. I came close to getting rear ended the other day on a state road near me. I quickly stepped on the brake then accelerated to avoid getting hit.


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## StillaYankee (3 mo ago)

Klaus-rf said:


> The center of the lane is often NOT the best place to be.
> 
> IMHO AP needs a user-adjustable left-to-right offset adjustment.


The center of the lane is the PERFECT place to be. Too far left or right & you risk a sideswipe with a vehicle in that lane if they do the same thing. On AP, my car incessantly tries to bring me closer to the right, alongside trucks & uncomfortably so.


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## nicholasmystic (8 mo ago)

I don't do a lot of interstate driving since I live in a rural area. However, when I do drive on a limited access highway I try to use both AP and self-steering and find that they work very well and make driving much less work. However, when in AP with self-steering engaged I am having trouble adjusting when I'm passing a large truck that is in the right lane and I'm in the center or left lane and the road is making a sweeping left turn. I get the sensation that my car is drifting too much toward the truck and I will end up taking control of the steering to veer back to the left to avoid drifting into the truck. I'm not saying the car would have done this, side swipe the truck, I'm saying that I can't yet bring myself to trust that it won't since the result would be so bad I guess I'm not yet willing to take the risk. At highway speeds (70 mph) there just isn't much time to react if the car kept moving toward the truck.


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

nicholasmystic said:


> I don't do a lot of interstate driving since I live in a rural area. However, when I do drive on a limited access highway I try to use both AP and self-steering and find that they work very well and make driving much less work. However, when in AP with self-steering engaged I am having trouble adjusting when I'm passing a large truck that is in the right lane and I'm in the center or left lane and the road is making a sweeping left turn. I get the sensation that my car is drifting too much toward the truck and I will end up taking control of the steering to veer back to the left to avoid drifting into the truck. I'm not saying the car would have done this, side swipe the truck, I'm saying that I can't yet bring myself to trust that it won't since the result would be so bad I guess I'm not yet willing to take the risk. At highway speeds (70 mph) there just isn't much time to react if the car kept moving toward the truck.


It becomes a trust issue. Look for well managed scenarios, when no other cars are around, you know the road, and see how far you can go before taking over.

While I had already tried this situation, I was driving and my wife in the passenger seat. There's one place where there is bridge construction and you have to move right to rejoin the road. Issue is that as you turn right, the side wall is only about a foot from the edge of the road, extremely tight. 
Well, my wife, knowing the car was on autopilot, literally freaked out during the move, to the point that she was crying. Next time I was driving and she said that she was perfectly okay. In BOTH cases, the car took the exact same path, one with autopilot, one with me driving. Well, after a few more trips through the area, she now has no issues with the autopilot driving it. I think that she has maybe even allowed the autopilot to drive it when she was driving.

It's like watching your teenager drive, there is no way they can do anything to your standards (even if it is exactly the same way that you would do it).


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