In a video uploaded by Gustavo Testa, a Tesla Model 3’s Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) appears to save the butt, and perhaps life, of a cyclist. Right at 8 seconds into the short clip, the cyclist swerves left, then seems to realize there’s a car behind him and immediately swerves right.
Just as he swerved back to the right, the video showed the Tesla coming to a complete stop. The Model 3’s automatic emergency braking took over and prevented a collision that could have taken the cyclist’s life or at the very least injured him.
There are more details in a Reddit post by Gustavo Testa, where he explains that Autopilot was not engaged, which means it was the emergency braking that is always “on” that did the work. The car is a Tesla Model 3 Performance. In his post, Gustavo also reminds everyone that, back in 2017, Tesla introduced its AEB system for all vehicles.
Gustavo also mentions that Tesla is bringing even more advanced features to Tesla drivers in the next-generation AEB update coming soon, including engaging the brakes on the vehicle when Autopolit detects a pedestrian crossing in the car’s path, a stop sign or a red light.
Teslas does not have an engine. Therefore, as most owners know, they make very little sound, so it’s no wonder the cyclist thought there wasn’t a car behind him. In this scenario, having some type of warning sound — not an obnoxious car honking sound — would definitely help.
BREAKING: @Tesla technician informs me that all #Model3s built since 9/1 have a pedestrian warning speaker installed that emits noise below 19 mph while in forward and while in reverse.
Waiting for more details.
— Tesla Owners Online (@Model3Owners) September 9, 2019
In an article earlier this week by CleanTechnica, we reported that such sounds have been a long time coming, since they were part of an NHTSA mandate announced back in 2010 and only finalized back in February of 2019. In the same article, we discovered some trippy sounds that the Tesla might make when driving near pedestrians and cyclists.
Being a pedestrian who doesn’t own a car, I would definitely look back if I heard this sound just to make sure I’m not about to be picked up by a UFO (although, that would be an interesting experience):
UFO sounds aside, Tesla is making things quite interesting with its technology. Imagine all the accidents that wouldn’t happen if Tesla’s technology was widespread. Imagine all the lives that could be saved and injuries that wouldn’t happen.
Instead of, “My friend was in an accident and lost the use of his legs,” the conversation would be, “My friend almost got into an accident but the auto-braking feature saved his life.”
The technology that Tesla has is definitely saving more lives than endangering them.
In February of 2019, there was another instance where Tesla’s AEB system seemed to save the life of a Model X owner. In the video description, Mr. Perfect (who recorded an accident), says, “Tesla cars are from another planet.”
The video may be only 10 seconds long, but it’s a clip that may forever remind you of just how useful this tech is. You can clearly see the Model X braking just as the car came from the left side of the camera and smashed into the truck/van under the right light just beside the Model X. Impressive.
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