Hands Free Drivers Assist??

[RichSNJ]

They were supposed to have launched the 'new and improved' hands free driving (with the option to have it change lanes via the turn signal IIRC) by now, which uses a camera to monitor eye movement for forward attention on the road, but they still haven't done it.

I noticed my '23 SR has an option for 'drowsy driver alert', which I thought also used the same camera, but after a 2500 mile road trip last week, I can say that mine has no clue when the driver is drowsy. My wife even said she thought she fell asleep at one point while driving (middle of nowhere I-15 with no cars around). I know I was drowsy at points as I drove all night on the way down to SD, and had the option 'activated' in Uconnect, but it never made a peep. I even tried to 'fool' it into calling me out, and... nothing (one eye closed, the other just cracked, hand touching the wheel to satisfy the self driving system, no body movements at all).

Yeah I tried a couple of times to see if I could get it to activate and couldn't... Don't really care though as it makes enough unwanted noises...

 

[Sarge]

If you take your hands off the wheel and let it cycle through the orange screen warning to the red screen warning, it will finally slam on the brakes in a panic stop event. tried it once at around 45mph in the middle of nowhere just to see what it would do. But yeah.. Drowsy driver? Nope. Not a thing. I'm not sure why it's in the Uconnect menu except that it's by mistake.

 

[RichSNJ]

If you take your hands off the wheel and let it cycle through the orange screen warning to the red screen warning, it will finally slam on the brakes in a panic stop event. tried it once at around 45mph in the middle of nowhere just to see what it would do. But yeah.. Drowsy driver? Nope. Not a thing. I'm not sure why it's in the Uconnect menu except that it's by mistake.

That's disappointing, I would have preferred it to gracefully stop rather than panic stop (unless it sees something it's going to hit).

 

[Sarge]

That's disappointing, I would have preferred it to gracefully stop rather than panic stop (unless it sees something it's going to hit).

I think the idea is to wake the driver up, on the presumption that if you haven't noticed the green lights go to orange, and then red, and haven't noticed the warning messages or it beeping at you either, it's because you're sleeping/unconscious. There weren't any other cars in sight when I tried it, and I put my hands on the wheel when it stabbed the brakes, so I'm not sure what it does if you just never put your hands back on the wheel.

The owner's manual just says "Two haptic brake jerk warnings will be issued (red warning light is being issued)." What it does if you ignore those brake applications, I don't yet know.

 

[RichSNJ]

I think the idea is to wake the driver up, on the presumption that if you haven't noticed the green lights go to orange, and then red, and haven't noticed the warning messages or it beeping at you either, it's because you're sleeping/unconscious. There weren't any other cars in sight when I tried it, and I put my hands on the wheel when it stabbed the brakes, so I'm not sure what it does if you just never put your hands back on the wheel.

The owner's manual just says "Two haptic brake jerk warnings will be issued (red warning light is being issued)." What it does if you ignore those brake applications, I don't yet know.

My concern would be that if you really did fall asleep, or worse, and you were driving along the freeway at night and then suddenly it slams on the brakes, the person behind you may not be super attentive either. Not that it wouldn't be their fault, but I'd rather not have an accident at all since we all know it's capable of stopping normally. Now in a wonderful, but as of yet fictional world, it would gracefully pull over to the side of the road and not leave you in a lane of traffic...

 

[Jake22]

In a wonderful world, it would gracefully pull over to the side of the road & not leave you in a lane of traffic...

...splurge on a loaded Model X

 

[SweetAndLow]

My concern would be that if you really did fall asleep, or worse, and you were driving along the freeway at night and then suddenly it slams on the brakes, the person behind you may not be super attentive either. Not that it wouldn't be their fault, but I'd rather not have an accident at all since we all know it's capable of stopping normally. Now in a wonderful, but as of yet fictional world, it would gracefully pull over to the side of the road and not leave you in a lane of traffic...

lol you fall asleep at the wheel and you're worried about the driver behind you hitting your car.

 

[Sarge]

You'd think it would activate the hazard lights and sound some kind of cabin alarm over the sound system, and maybe monitor rear for close traffic, but I would imagine the rear sensors aren't really capable of that.

As far as worrying about getting hit; the real concern is causing an accident and hurting other people who aren't asleep, but who also might not be expecting to be brake-checked twice for no apparent reason.

 

[Jake22]

Wife thought she fell asleep while driving. I tried to 'fool' the SR with one eye closed, the other cracked.

@Sarge...hi-way hi-jinx 🙃

 

[RichSNJ]

lol you fall asleep at the wheel and you're worried about the driver behind you hitting your car.

Yeah. That would concern me.

 

[Boggswade]

Yeah . That would concern me.

I finally got mine on a road trip recently (2,000 miles). The vehicle and the ADA did ok overall but is not really ready for prime time. It definitely made the trip less tiring but It did not pick up lane markers many times despite being clearly marked. I tested the system a t times and the vehicle drifted over the lines. If one were not paying attention the result may not have been good. Overall, I am happy with my Lemon replacement. It is very much improved over my ’21 though it still has just over 3,700 miles on it after my road trip.

 

[RichSNJ]

I finally got mine on a road trip recently (2,000 miles). The vehicle and the ADA did ok overall but is not really ready for prime time. It definitely made the trip less tiring but It did not pick up lane markers many times despite being clearly marked. I tested the system a t times and the vehicle drifted over the lines. If one were not paying attention the result may not have been good. Overall, I am happy with my Lemon replacement. It is very much improved over my ’21 though it still has just over 3,700 miles on it after my road trip.

I use ADA all the time and I pretty much know when it's going to work and not. Once it is successfully engaged, especially on a freeway, it works flawlessly for me. If I'm on a smaller road, I have to be careful with bad roads / markings and sharp turns, but other than that, I use it just about everywhere.