# Autopilot rural driving features requested



## Rackster (3 mo ago)

Good day all of you connected guys and gals!

Here is my situation, I own a Tesla MYLR and live in a rural area in Quebec, Canada which means that I have to drive about 100km before I reach highways. As I leave early in the morning and come back late at night, the possibility of using the Autopilot and AutoSteer functions are more than appreciated as it provides for a reduced level of stress during the rural part of the commute.

My issue is two-fold, the first one has to do with Autopilot speed adjustments when entering villages (going from 90km to 50km) and the second has to do with school zones, both of which generate a substantial amount of cash for the village when the police is around if you do not adjust your driving speeds. I wonder how FSD does it...

On the issue of speed adjustments when entering speed change zones, the problem is that if you are at the 90km setting, the time it takes for the car to decelerate to 50km is substantial. There is always a sign as you get close to the speed reduction zone that informs you of the upcoming speed change. This sign is a yellow lozenge with the reduce speed in a smaller white Square. I checked with Transport Canada and was informed that this advisory sign is set at a standard distance from the actual reduced speed zone.

As Tesla is moving towards a Vision only structure for Autopilot features, and currently reads the reduced speed zone before making speed adjustments, I wonder if it would be possible to program the system to "recognize" the advisory sign and initiate a speed reduction (say from 90km) to half the upcoming speed zone (if 50km) to 70km so that the speed reduction at the zone can be less drastic and lengthy and reduce the risk of being ticketed (I hate paying involuntary taxes 😉).

On the issue of School Zones, again there is a standard signage that delimits the zone. In this case, I would recommend that the system be programmed to recognize the school zone sign and reduce the speed to 30km with no allowance for offset as is the case with other speed zones.

Do I have support for this feature? Let me know in your comments and please vote!

Hopefully Tesla is monitoring this thread.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Tesla probably is not monitoring this thread. You can send in a suggestion to them, or just annoy @ElonMusk on Twitter until he passes it along.

FSD can read signs, Autopilot doesn't yet - that's the difference. Eventually (hopefully) that feature will trickle down to AP.


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## Bigriver (Jan 26, 2018)

@Rackster, autopilot used to do a phenomenal job at reducing speed on rural roads, as the speed limit reduced. It did it in a timely fashion without being too abrupt. I have lost track of when they goofed it up but I concur that it is awful now. I have whined about it in other threads…. It is not just that it doesn't reduce speeds fast enough, but it also doesn’t increase speeds fast enough either. By my own counting estimates, someone has hardwired speed changes at about 1 mile per hour per second.

I am not as keen about wishing it would recognize upcoming speed change signs, as that signage is going to be regional. Perhaps it is standard in Canada, but little like that is standard in the US.

For now, i intervene. And remain hopeful that they will eventually fix it back to how it used to be. I am also anxious for my Tesla to learn about using turn signals before changing lanes (FSD Beta issue). These seem like such simple programming fixes.


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## Ed Woodrick (May 26, 2018)

Honestly, a speed drop that much should be a staged set of limits. Limits here in the states tend to drop by 10 mph. 

I don't want the car to follow yellow advisory signs since they are are often worthless, indicating a curve and recommending a speed that is way too slow 

But yes school zones are a prow. 

But the again, that's why you must stay attentive when driving


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## Rackster (3 mo ago)

Ed Woodrick said:


> Honestly, a speed drop that much should be a staged set of limits. Limits here in the states tend to drop by 10 mph.
> 
> I don't want the car to follow yellow advisory signs since they are are often worthless, indicating a curve and recommending a speed that is way too slow
> 
> ...


Indeed, I would agree that I would not want forced speed reductions for curves and such. In Quebec, the signage for curves is not the same as speed reductions advisories therefore this could be segregated (and I assume the same standard is used across Canada). 
As for the conversion between mph and km/h, this is already accounted for in the programming and I don’t think this would be a problem. 
I am happy we agree on school zones. 
Don’t forget to vote!


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## francoisp (Sep 28, 2018)

I never measured it but it seems to me that after passing a lower speed sign the car will decelerate to match it within 30 yards. Isn't that enough to avoid a speeding ticket? I've never seen a cop that close to a sign waiting to ticket speeders.


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## Rackster (3 mo ago)

francoisp said:


> I never measured it but it seems to me that after passing a lower speed sign the car will decelerate to match it within 30 yards. Isn't that enough to avoid a speeding ticket? I've never seen a cop that close to a sign waiting to ticket speeders.


 In my opinion I would question the 30 yards estimate. I have to go across a municipality near my house that is about 2 km long. If I let Watson take care of it, I will go from 95km/h to 60 km/h by the municipal building which is halfway through the municipality (Watson is set on Standard, maybe your is set on a higher performance setting?). My last ticket there was from a policeman positioned at the first crossroad which is 100 meters from the 50km sign. $250 was my contribution that day…. I appreciate your input, don’t forget to vote!


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## francoisp (Sep 28, 2018)

Rackster said:


> In my opinion I would question the 30 yards estimate. I have to go across a municipality near my house that is about 2 km long. If I let Watson take care of it, I will go from 95km/h to 60 km/h by the municipal building which is halfway through the municipality (Watson is set on Standard, maybe your is set on a higher performance setting?). My last ticket there was from a policeman positioned at the first crossroad which is 100 meters from the 50km sign. $250 was my contribution that day…. I appreciate your input, don’t forget to vote!


My car is set to max regen ("standard"). Also I made sure that the "apply brakes when regenerative braking is limited" is turned on.


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## Rackster (3 mo ago)

francoisp said:


> My car is set to max regen ("standard"). Also I made sure that the "apply brakes when regenerative braking is limited" is turned on.


Ok, this is the same setting Watson is on. I definitely witness longer speed reduction distances.


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## Klaus-rf (Mar 6, 2019)

francoisp said:


> I never measured it but it seems to me that after passing a lower speed sign the car will decelerate to match it within 30 yards. Isn't that enough to avoid a speeding ticket? I've never seen a cop that close to a sign waiting to ticket speeders.


 Around here (Arizona), you need to be down to the posted speed by the time your vehicle reaches the sign. If not, you're elligable to get some paperwork.


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## Rackster (3 mo ago)

Klaus-rf said:


> Around here (Arizona), you need to be down to the posted speed by the time your vehicle reaches the sign. If not, you're elligable to get some paperwork.


Don’t forget to vote!
Thanks for your feedback!


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