AA chat

I'm Bob and still an alcoholic. A retired 73 year old engineer, I prefer to speak when there is new technology or techniques to share.

In 2019 at age 69, I bought a Tesla and paid extra fro Autopilot. I knew that as I grew older eyesight, hearing, and reaction times would weaken and I wanted computer assistance to extend my driving. Happily, Autopilot paid for itself two months later.

My wife and I left for a weekend visit but I forgot to pack my CPAP machine. I have sleep apnea and the CPAP machine ensures I get a good nights sleep, But the 3 day trip accidentally became 14 days, beyond CPAP skip window,

Driving home into the morning sun, I had 5 micro-sleep events of 15-20 seconds that Autopilot kept the car in the lane and not running off the road into the ditch or a power pole. Dynamic cruise control also kept the car at the set speed adjusting to any traffic getting too close. My narcoleptic wife told me about the first two and then I recognized the symptoms of the next three. But Autopilot is not Robotaxi.

Autopilot expects the driver to pay attention. If you ignore it for a minute or so, it will send warnings and eventually disengage, the equivalent of “Hold my beer. WATCH THIS!” Micro-sleeps are brief but intoxication lasts longer.

Two years later, my wife of 43 years passed away. So I often added an extra shot or on a hot day, a frozen margarita. Not an excuse, just what happened, Combined with undiagnosed, 'pink eye' led to a traffic stop and blowing a 0.10 where the legal limit is 0.08. That led to one of two DUIs and under probation, alcohol treatments.

Of the different probation directed classes and programs, Alcoholics Anonymous is the only program, a fellowship, I continue with after my DUI charges were dismissed. This posting is one of the AA steps.

 

I bought in 2019 when there weren’t many choices other than Autopilot. My previous 2017 Prius Prime and 2014 BMW i3-REx pretty much offered just dynamic cruise control. The lane keeping in the Prime was under impressive.

I’m glad automated driving assistance systems are becoming more common. Just independent consistent specifications seem missing.

Bob Wilson

 

Lane keeping works at any speed dynamic cruise control is engaged. The lower set limit is 18-19 mph but once engaged, it goes down to stop and back up in traffic. The rule is set dynamic cruise control first and if you get the 'steering wheel' icon, enable lane keeping. BTW, lane keeping initially requires left and right lines/curbs. But if the left line goes away, it keeps working using the right side line or curb.

Bob Wilson