Interesting event with Automatic Emergency Braking

[KGMtech]

My sister in Vancouver has a 2017 Nissan Rogue, with all the bells and whistles. She was driving on some roads in Vancouver area and had to drive over some steel plates on road for construction.

The car made all the warnings of emergency obstacle event, stopped the car. Sister was perplexed, but drives on. Texts me and asks if this is normal? I research and find others have experienced much the same event, some who have nearly been hit by the car behind as that following driver was not expecting someone to stop for no reason on an otherwise open road.

I guess as these radar based systems are beta tested by owners, the design & integration will improve, but it would be very unnerving to drive over a construction zone and have the car stop by itself!

Nissan allows you to turn off the AEB system, but who'd think to do this? My wife has same car, now she knows what could happen in a construction zone.

 

[ironman_gq]

I'm guessing the change in radar reflection between the road and the plates is making the system think there is an "obstacle" there. I would think the steel plates are going to have a much different radar signature than the road surface

 

[PimTac]

Generally speaking, these systems are not foolproof. Something solid must have been in the near vicinity? It's hard to think the steel plate caused the system to brake the car.

A couple of times my brakes engaged as I was following a car making a right hand turn. Visually, I could tell I was clear to move ahead but the system decided otherwise.

What it has forced me to do is to allow a little more distance between me and the car in front.

 

[dishdude]

My Challenger and previous Grand Cherokee both have the system, neither have gone off unless I was barreling down on a slow or stopped vehicle. When I first got the Jeep I had to adjust my driving a bit, I wouldn't slow for vehicles I could tell were turning but the Jeep would.

 

[oldhp]

Pay attention and you don't need these "modern" systems.

 

[PimTac]

What was the weather like at the time?

 

[KGMtech]

I am wondering about the next time we drive on a steel deck bridge. I radar is located on the grille of the Rogue, there would be some tolerance for the mounting angle, height from road surface, rolling radius of tires that would influence the cone of the radar scanning, even the approach angle as you drive over the road.

I know that these features are relatively inexpensive to add to cars now, but they account for a inordinate amount of post-sale grief for the dealerships. In AEB, it is a good idea even if slightly flawed.

 

[KGMtech]

Originally Posted by PimTac
What was the weather like at the time?
It was dry - that's a special event in the Vancouver area! - normally it's raining.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Saw horse with sinage and E signs near by?

I REALLY want to disco my ESC and ABS for winter.

Too many nannies trying to get me to crash or preventing proper driving in E situstions.

I drive with very advanced skill set.

Any Ideas?

Id just pull the fuse but it is in-circuit with instrument lightings and rear marker. IIRC

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by oldhp
Put your phone down and you don't need these "modern" systems.
Fixed it for you.

 

[RamFan]

I had the emergency stopping system activate once in the Mazda. Was parking in a field for a 4th of July event. Parking attendant was in front of my guiding me in to where he was at which point I was supposed to stop. Well, the CX-5 apparently thought I was going to hit the attendant and hit the brakes jerking the car to a stop. Guy looked at me funny, I tapped the gas again to slowly roll to the stopping point. Got out and told the guy it wasn't me, it was the car!

Felt like the kid telling his teacher that the dog ate his homework.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by dishdude
My Challenger and previous Grand Cherokee both have the system, neither have gone off unless I was barreling down on a slow or stopped vehicle. When I first got the Jeep I had to adjust my driving a bit, I wouldn't slow for vehicles I could tell were turning but the Jeep would.


Yup, this has been my experience as well.

 

[Pew]

Cars with AEBs are banned from certain motorsport bodies too. I think both SCCA and NASA has that in the rules now. Makes sense since the driver isn't in control of the car once that system activated.

 

[KrisZ]

Where were the engineers during the design and testing? I thought these mystical creatures were incapable of any errors, based on the worship they get on this site.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by KGMtech


I guess as these radar based systems are beta tested by owners, the design & integration will improve, but it would be very unnerving to drive over a construction zone and have the car stop by itself!

The better systems will use a mix of millimeter-wave radar and an array of cameras(or a single camera like in Toyota Safety Sense P and the Lexus equivalent, Tesla is using an array of cameras) or even cameras on their own - Subaru's EyeSight uses stereoscopic cameras. The first generation of adaptive cruise that Toyota introduced on the Lexus LS430 and the higher-end Siennas used laser to gauge distance, the first generation AEB systems Toyota/Honda/Mercedes(no doubt Denso or Bosch/Conti systems) introduced started the transition over to millmeter-wave radar.

But to a radar gun or transponder, metal is metal.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

There's a reason why Subaru EyeSight, generally regarded as one of the best collision avoidance systems, uses cameras and not radar.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted by KrisZ
Where were the engineers during the design and testing? I thought these mystical creatures were incapable of any errors, based on the worship they get on this site.


No system is perfect. Not sure why it would need to be. It just needs to be significantly better than no collision avoidance system to be advantageous. And they're only going to get better. Unlike people's driving skills.

 

[Chris142]

Yikes. That's scary. Give me a 66 Chevy with a 283.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by Chris142
Yikes. That's scary. Give me a 66 Chevy with a 283.


Just don't drive through a puddle and get the drums wet

 

[Snagglefoot]

I've seen people fall into the trap of following too close behind and timing things such that the turning car finishes it's turn and you skim by just as the turning car leaves the lane. However in a few instances I've seen the turning car hit the brakes, usually for a pedestrian and whamo, the car behind hit the turning car. Maybe the system is correctly calibrated.