RDMS and winter

[aphybrid]

Make the title now RDMS and winter and autumn leaves!

Going down a road with edge of pavement covered on leaves OK for a while then possibly a pattern of them actuates RDMS.

[Jazzist]

It may just be my car, but I think RDMS is a very smart system from Honda. My experience is that when I drive for a while on a road or a line where RDMS kicks in, the system stops by itself.

[peteo48]

It may just be my car, but I think RDMS is a very smart system from Honda. My experience is that when I drive for a while on a road or a line where RDMS kicks in, the system stops by itself.

I think I'm finding this. For the time being I leave it on. I actually indicate now if passing a parked vehicle requires me to cross the centre line (I guess I always should have done!)

I think the narrow country lanes thing might still be an issue. I think I'd turn it off in these circs.

[Jazzik]

It may just be my car, but I think RDMS is a very smart system from Honda. My experience is that when I drive for a while on a road or a line where RDMS kicks in, the system stops by itself.

The same here... Only "the system stops by itself" I interpret as "RDMS surrenders, I won!"

[Jazzist]

Yes

[Kremmen]

If I get one steering wheel wobble and an orange steering wheel symbol then that's both one too many for me.

Each to their own though. If it works for you then leave it on.

[Jayt43]

RDMS is like:



I'm okay with it though, as I have a limited amount of country lanes nearby.

LKAS is also interesting. I travelled down a stretch of motorway which featured burnt out temporary road markings + tar crack filler.

In the bright winter sunshine the Jazz went from being solid as a rock to "oh my, which bit do I follow?" And this despite there being visible white lines for each lane, it got totally confused!

Generally the system is rather good using ACC and LKAS, but I've noticed that in strong winds and with unpredictable road markings it does "run home to mama".

Not the best as I was doing 80mph at the time!

[culzean]

I think I'm finding this. For the time being I leave it on. I actually indicate now if passing a parked vehicle requires me to cross the centre line (I guess I always should have done!)

Wonder what action German cars use to mute the lane keeping, no good relying on the direction indicator 

[Kremmen]

I found ACC worked as expected if I stayed in lane.

I had frequent issues when changing lanes, as the slight angle was enough to make it seem to identify a vehicle in another lane and try to match that vehicles speed.

I use LIM now and that's perfect for me.

[peteo48]

I think, with all this tech, it's very much a matter of finding your own comfort zone as it were. A lot of the tech is a step on the way to self driving cars.

Cruise Control is interesting and Adaptive Cruise Control even more so. Speaking to various friends and rels over the years there are those who won't use it at all, those (like myself) who use it very sparingly and others who will use it at 30 mph and as often as possible.

My own approach is to follow the guidance. I never use it in bad weather and I never use it in heavy traffic. I'd go as far as to say that Cruise Control isn't really necessary in the UK. My experience of driving in the USA, however, shows the ideal situations for CC - wide roads and little or no traffic (apart from towns and cities obviously).

I find CC ideal for giving the right leg a bit of a rest on long journeys when you get a reasonably light traffic bit of motorway. I wouldn't change lanes with the CC on. I would, however, use the ACC in the inside lane when resting my leg - I would simply let it do its thing.

[sportse]

I drove a German car recently- they had the ‘safety sense’ button on the steering wheel rather than down by your knee in the Jazz.

Perhaps they expect people to be turning the systems off regularly?

Certainly their lane keep assist steering force seemed stronger than the Jazz.

[Lord Voltermore]

Others have mentioned fears of skidding in slippery conditions if RDMS interferes with steering . 

I have mine set to' delayed' and find it does not often twitch the steering even on narrow lanes , and when it does its just a minor tactile 'hint'.

At first I wondered why it sometimes does twitch  while most of the time, in apparently similar circumstances  , it does not.

Two reasons I think. On very  narrow roads I am often under 30kph/18mph so the system is not yet active  . And at faster speeds I may be using the accelerator ,brakes and steering often enough it detects active driver input, which overides activation.

The system  is probably less likely to detect road margins, lane markings and the like in snow.So wouldnt activate.  It certainly wouldnt stop you driving into a snow filled roadside  ditch.

  It might activate in ice, mud, loose gravel ,wet leaves etc.    But you could argue that the best defence for this is to drive much slower in these conditions . If it gives you a fright ,or worse, in these  circumstances  you may have been close to the safe limit of traction anyway.

[Lord Voltermore]

Activating ACC is  easy enough  but using it appropriately is a new driver skill to learn. Its not a good idea to use it  in heavy traffic.

Main problem I find is if left to its own devices it will doggedly maintain its set speed (or the speed of the vehicle in front) regardless of the speed of the vehicles in adjacent lanes. If traffic in the faster lane slows appreciably  but your lane is clear the ACC will undertake them.  Undertaking is discouraged in the UK highway code.

On first using it I soon found you really need to 'supervise' what's its trying to do . So often that in busy traffic its easier to switch it off and take over.  .

Once  I was  happily cruising at 60 mph with a clear lane ahead.  Traffic in the faster lane abruptly slowed to 30 mph and built up.  ACC would have undertaken them at 60 mph into the bright blue yonder.
 
I  realised the dangers  - what's caused them to slow ? , will someone abruptly change into my lane?   I immediately took over the helm, and just in time because  someone did abruptly move into my lane.   

Or if 2 or more lanes are travelling at about the same speed it normal politeness to allow room for a certain amount of lane changing and zip merging. I found the ACC was driving like  a selfish pig, speeding up slightly because it was tracking the speed of the car in front,  but to all appearances  it was me deliberately blocking someone about to change lanes. 

And if you leave the slowest lane to overtake a slow vehicle , you may find  your set speed is  too slow for traffic flow in  that lane .  Easily fixed,  use the accelerator to speed up . But some drivers may be unaware they have now become a middle lane hog.

But its great in fairly light traffic. 

[Jayt43]

But its great in fairly light traffic.

I think this sums it up nicely. In 10 years such systems will no doubt be able to cope with the "other lane" scenarios you describe. Indeed Tesla seem to be well on the way, but definitely a human at the helm is still needed in dense traffic.

[Neil Ives]

I often drive on a local road about a mile long that has 30mph speed cameras. I use my ACC set to 30mph to maintain my distance from the vehicle in front. Along this road there are several pedestrian crossings outside schools. When the preceding vehicle slows/stops for a crossing my car just comes to a halt behind them. No problems, yet.