- Joined
- May 20, 2024
- Messages
- 532
- Reaction score
- 570
- Location
- Northern NJ
- Cars
- 22 Air GT, Honda S2K AP1
- Referral Code
- TGR2P9J7
Just did a 50 mile drive with HFDA (3-4 lane interstate, rt 80 in northern NJ out towards PA border). Overall, exceeded expectations (which were already high). It's astounding how much thought and work has gone into the system overall.
Regarding people cutting into the lane (this was originally going to be a reply to that existing thread but I opted to start a new one since the post became a HFDA drive report)....I allowed several situations where a car pulled into my lane ahead of me, halving the gap. In most cases, it just happened that the car in front of me wasn't at the minimum follow distance that I'd set, so being at half the gap wasn't a safety issue. However, it was definitely closer than the 'target' follow distance that I'd dialed in (which was the minimum/closest setting).
It slowly fixed the problem with smooth deceleration. My guess is that most people would not be comfortable with the distance involved...not because they wouldn't ever allow that distance, temporarily, themselves, but due to lack of confidence that an automated system will fix it, particularly not knowing if/when it is going to address the issue, and what that will feel like.
Long story short, it fixes it slowly and smoothly, but it did fix it, 100% of the time.
The system performed extremely well in a wide variety of shifting lanes (3 lanes becoming 4, 4 becoming 3), solid lines where lane changes aren't permitted, construction cones, lane changes down a hill into the right lane just as a left turn is coming up, which is brutal and non-trivial for a human driver to execute smoothly. All handled extremely well. I lost count of how many 'awkward' lane transitions there were that would've thrown off a lesser system, and it either handled it 100% perfectly, or with just a hint of a steering correction that indicated a less than perfect execution, but certainly nothing jarring.
I did notice an interesting traffic situation where a car I was catching up with executed a lane change just as I was doing the same thing. Once it realized that it wasn't going great, it backed off subtantially further than I expected or had experienced any time before.
It's VERY quick to detect if your eyes aren't on the road...I experienced that for the first time about 30 miles into the drive as a phone call came to an end and I wanted to change something on the nav. It doesn't disengage or freak out, it just prompts you to get your eyes on the road.
I did see cases where it transitioned from hands free to hands required (but still DA), and still another case where it transitioned from DA to 'take control..." due to not being able to handle the road conditions (I can't remember the specifics)....it all happened smoothly.
I did have some awkward moments with inconsistent drivers where it made sense for me to get outta there quickly and efficiently. Rather than disconnect HFDA, I simply start driving with a subtle lane change and some acceleration beyond the commanded speed. I completed a few overtakes, then headed back to the middle lane. I scanned the dash to see what mode it was in, and it still said HFDA, however the steering wheel icon wasn't illuminated. I wasn't quite done with the lane change when I released the wheel, and noticed it was not actively taking over. Not until the drift continued with me reaching the middle of the lane did it automatically re-engage (steering wheel illuminated). I can see that potentially causing people some confusion if they routinely take over without cancelling the mode, then expect it to resume from ANY spot on the road. That is not the case. You have to meet certain criteria for it to re-engage by itself again.
Lastly, there was ONE instance where I took over, which was a flat-bed18 wheeler (not a closed container) where the car appeared to underestimate the width of the trailer. I haven't seen this with closed container 18 wheelers, so perhaps that's the difference, but I was uncomfortably close, and when the truck went wide, crossing into my lane, I gave it a fraction of a second, realized it wasn't taking action and then took over, partially crossing into the shoulder by about 1 tire width to stay clear.
All in all, absolutely ecstatic with it. Without question, a fatigue reducer and a huge value add.
Regarding people cutting into the lane (this was originally going to be a reply to that existing thread but I opted to start a new one since the post became a HFDA drive report)....I allowed several situations where a car pulled into my lane ahead of me, halving the gap. In most cases, it just happened that the car in front of me wasn't at the minimum follow distance that I'd set, so being at half the gap wasn't a safety issue. However, it was definitely closer than the 'target' follow distance that I'd dialed in (which was the minimum/closest setting).
It slowly fixed the problem with smooth deceleration. My guess is that most people would not be comfortable with the distance involved...not because they wouldn't ever allow that distance, temporarily, themselves, but due to lack of confidence that an automated system will fix it, particularly not knowing if/when it is going to address the issue, and what that will feel like.
Long story short, it fixes it slowly and smoothly, but it did fix it, 100% of the time.
The system performed extremely well in a wide variety of shifting lanes (3 lanes becoming 4, 4 becoming 3), solid lines where lane changes aren't permitted, construction cones, lane changes down a hill into the right lane just as a left turn is coming up, which is brutal and non-trivial for a human driver to execute smoothly. All handled extremely well. I lost count of how many 'awkward' lane transitions there were that would've thrown off a lesser system, and it either handled it 100% perfectly, or with just a hint of a steering correction that indicated a less than perfect execution, but certainly nothing jarring.
I did notice an interesting traffic situation where a car I was catching up with executed a lane change just as I was doing the same thing. Once it realized that it wasn't going great, it backed off subtantially further than I expected or had experienced any time before.
It's VERY quick to detect if your eyes aren't on the road...I experienced that for the first time about 30 miles into the drive as a phone call came to an end and I wanted to change something on the nav. It doesn't disengage or freak out, it just prompts you to get your eyes on the road.
I did see cases where it transitioned from hands free to hands required (but still DA), and still another case where it transitioned from DA to 'take control..." due to not being able to handle the road conditions (I can't remember the specifics)....it all happened smoothly.
I did have some awkward moments with inconsistent drivers where it made sense for me to get outta there quickly and efficiently. Rather than disconnect HFDA, I simply start driving with a subtle lane change and some acceleration beyond the commanded speed. I completed a few overtakes, then headed back to the middle lane. I scanned the dash to see what mode it was in, and it still said HFDA, however the steering wheel icon wasn't illuminated. I wasn't quite done with the lane change when I released the wheel, and noticed it was not actively taking over. Not until the drift continued with me reaching the middle of the lane did it automatically re-engage (steering wheel illuminated). I can see that potentially causing people some confusion if they routinely take over without cancelling the mode, then expect it to resume from ANY spot on the road. That is not the case. You have to meet certain criteria for it to re-engage by itself again.
Lastly, there was ONE instance where I took over, which was a flat-bed18 wheeler (not a closed container) where the car appeared to underestimate the width of the trailer. I haven't seen this with closed container 18 wheelers, so perhaps that's the difference, but I was uncomfortably close, and when the truck went wide, crossing into my lane, I gave it a fraction of a second, realized it wasn't taking action and then took over, partially crossing into the shoulder by about 1 tire width to stay clear.
All in all, absolutely ecstatic with it. Without question, a fatigue reducer and a huge value add.
