What's Normal? - Do you regularly use cruise control? (1 Viewer)

[Doug B]

Also, what's up with the people who think it's dangerous? You still have to pay attention to the road and the drivers around you. It's not autopilot.

They might be thinking that other people use cruise control in dense city/suburban driving or something.

Non-cruise-controllers: In situations where you're constantly changing speeds, stopping for lights and yield signs, etc. ... no one is using cruise control.

On an open interstate with little traffic ... think of cruise control as an "automatic right ankle". That's all it does -- keeps your gas pedal at a given level automatically.

Any brake action disengages cruise control immediately: You can barely tap on your brake pedal to disengage cruise control if you feel the need to start coasting to slow down. Or you can mash the break pedal and skid to a stop if a tree falls onto the road or something -- cruise control interferes in no way with any kind of braking.

You can also use buttons on your cruise control to adjust cruising speed up or down if traffic is light enough for you to have the necessary lead time. If you're cruising on the interstate between cities and then hit a patch of urban interstate with dense traffic ... yeah, you don't use cruise control in typical city stop-&-go.

 

[Sand]

Not a fan. Don't like the feeling of not being 100% in control of my vehicle.

So I guess this wasn't you?

 

[Sand]

Same here.. I like to stay between 6-8 mph over the limit and cruise keeps me there without worrying about it.

I always go above the speed limit on highways. 8 mph is the max I’ll push it. I heard a police officer say, “8 your great, 9 your mine”. I also have a friend that is usually 10-12 over without a lot of tickets over his driving career.

I live by the mantra 14 is hopefully good, I know 20-30 isn't but let's risk it for the biscuits

If the speed limit was 90 would most of the people who usually go over the speed limit still do it? My guess is that they would. That would be a situation where I wouldn't even go the speed limit most of the time. My rule is usually never exceed 6 miles an hour over. If it's 65 I go 70 or 71. If it's 70 I usually go 70 to 73. If the speed limit is 70 I don't see a good reason to go much over that. Why are people in such a big damn hurry? One exception might be to stay with the flow of traffic, but even then I'm not one of those people who would go 20 to 30 mph over the speed limit. I simply don't see the need for it.

Seems like once you get close to 80 mph and higher your fuel mileage starts to decrease.

This isn't an accident.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Speed-fuel-consumption-curves-for-gasoline-passenger-car-by-engine-technology_fig3_261948625

 

[Schmeabs]

Also, what's up with the people who think it's dangerous? You still have to pay attention to the road and the drivers around you. It's not autopilot.

They might be thinking that other people use cruise control in dense city/suburban driving or something.

Non-cruise-controllers: In situations where you're constantly changing speeds, stopping for lights and yield signs, etc. ... no one is using cruise control.

On an open interstate with little traffic ... think of cruise control as an "automatic right ankle". That's all it does -- keeps your gas pedal at a given level automatically.

Any brake action disengages cruise control immediately: You can barely tap on your brake pedal to disengage cruise control if you feel the need to start coasting to slow down. Or you can mash the break pedal and skid to a stop if a tree falls onto the road or something -- cruise control interferes in no way with any kind of braking.

You can also use buttons on your cruise control to adjust cruising speed up or down if traffic is light enough for you to have the necessary lead time. If you're cruising on the interstate between cities and then hit a patch of urban interstate with dense traffic ... yeah, you don't use cruise control in typical city stop-&-go.

It has nothing to do with thinking people are using it it dense cities, that would be crazy. I think it is dangerous on open highway because my right foot is resting to the right of the gas pedal and if I need to slam on the brakes for some reason it is in an unnatural position and I may hit the gas instead of the brake or miss the brake completely.

 

[Keerock]

Also, what's up with the people who think it's dangerous? You still have to pay attention to the road and the drivers around you. It's not autopilot.

They might be thinking that other people use cruise control in dense city/suburban driving or something.

Non-cruise-controllers: In situations where you're constantly changing speeds, stopping for lights and yield signs, etc. ... no one is using cruise control.

On an open interstate with little traffic ... think of cruise control as an "automatic right ankle". That's all it does -- keeps your gas pedal at a given level automatically.

Any brake action disengages cruise control immediately: You can barely tap on your brake pedal to disengage cruise control if you feel the need to start coasting to slow down. Or you can mash the break pedal and skid to a stop if a tree falls onto the road or something -- cruise control interferes in no way with any kind of braking.

You can also use buttons on your cruise control to adjust cruising speed up or down if traffic is light enough for you to have the necessary lead time. If you're cruising on the interstate between cities and then hit a patch of urban interstate with dense traffic ... yeah, you don't use cruise control in typical city stop-&-go.

It has nothing to do with thinking people are using it it dense cities, that would be crazy. I think it is dangerous on open highway because my right foot is resting to the right of the gas pedal and if I need to slam on the brakes for some reason it is in an unnatural position and I may hit the gas instead of the brake or miss the brake completely.

Never once has even come close to happening to me in 40+ years of religiously using cruise control.

 

[Schmeabs]

Also, what's up with the people who think it's dangerous? You still have to pay attention to the road and the drivers around you. It's not autopilot.

They might be thinking that other people use cruise control in dense city/suburban driving or something.

Non-cruise-controllers: In situations where you're constantly changing speeds, stopping for lights and yield signs, etc. ... no one is using cruise control.

On an open interstate with little traffic ... think of cruise control as an "automatic right ankle". That's all it does -- keeps your gas pedal at a given level automatically.

Any brake action disengages cruise control immediately: You can barely tap on your brake pedal to disengage cruise control if you feel the need to start coasting to slow down. Or you can mash the break pedal and skid to a stop if a tree falls onto the road or something -- cruise control interferes in no way with any kind of braking.

You can also use buttons on your cruise control to adjust cruising speed up or down if traffic is light enough for you to have the necessary lead time. If you're cruising on the interstate between cities and then hit a patch of urban interstate with dense traffic ... yeah, you don't use cruise control in typical city stop-&-go.

It has nothing to do with thinking people are using it it dense cities, that would be crazy. I think it is dangerous on open highway because my right foot is resting to the right of the gas pedal and if I need to slam on the brakes for some reason it is in an unnatural position and I may hit the gas instead of the brake or miss the brake completely.

Never once has even come close to happening to me in 40+ years of religiously using cruise control.

Good to hear. It has happened to me more than once.

 

[Doug B]

I think it is dangerous on open highway because my right foot is resting to the right of the gas pedal and if I need to slam on the brakes for some reason

We don't deal with deer on the interstates around here. Nor falling-tree risks. Other than those, my imagination is failing me.

EDIT: Although the foot-resting thing could be a problem. When cruising, my right foot is tucked in a nine-to-three-o'clock orientation below both pedals ... I don't think about it consciously, but I can report that moving my foot to hit the brake from that orientation is both automatic and precise.

 

[Navin Johnson]

Same here.. I like to stay between 6-8 mph over the limit and cruise keeps me there without worrying about it.

I always go above the speed limit on highways. 8 mph is the max I’ll push it. I heard a police officer say, “8 your great, 9 your mine”. I also have a friend that is usually 10-12 over without a lot of tickets over his driving career.

I live by the mantra 14 is hopefully good, I know 20-30 isn't but let's risk it for the biscuits

If the speed limit was 90 would most of the people who usually go over the speed limit still do it? My guess is that they would. That would be a situation where I wouldn't even go the speed limit most of the time. My rule is usually never exceed 6 miles an hour over. If it's 65 I go 70 or 71. If it's 70 I usually go 70 to 73. If the speed limit is 70 I don't see a good reason to go much over that. Why are people in such a big damn hurry? One exception might be to stay with the flow of traffic, but even then I'm not one of those people who would go 20 to 30 mph over the speed limit. I simply don't see the need for it.

I'd probably roll right at 90 to 95

For me personally driving at that speed consistently is insane.

You get used to it

 

[Navin Johnson]

Also, what's up with the people who think it's dangerous? You still have to pay attention to the road and the drivers around you. It's not autopilot.

They might be thinking that other people use cruise control in dense city/suburban driving or something.

Non-cruise-controllers: In situations where you're constantly changing speeds, stopping for lights and yield signs, etc. ... no one is using cruise control.

On an open interstate with little traffic ... think of cruise control as an "automatic right ankle". That's all it does -- keeps your gas pedal at a given level automatically.

Any brake action disengages cruise control immediately: You can barely tap on your brake pedal to disengage cruise control if you feel the need to start coasting to slow down. Or you can mash the break pedal and skid to a stop if a tree falls onto the road or something -- cruise control interferes in no way with any kind of braking.

You can also use buttons on your cruise control to adjust cruising speed up or down if traffic is light enough for you to have the necessary lead time. If you're cruising on the interstate between cities and then hit a patch of urban interstate with dense traffic ... yeah, you don't use cruise control in typical city stop-&-go.

It has nothing to do with thinking people are using it it dense cities, that would be crazy. I think it is dangerous on open highway because my right foot is resting to the right of the gas pedal and if I need to slam on the brakes for some reason it is in an unnatural position and I may hit the gas instead of the brake or miss the brake completely.

Never once has even come close to happening to me in 40+ years of religiously using cruise control.

Good to hear. It has happened to me more than once.

Need to be driving more proactively.

 

[SWC]

if you are out on the open road and not using cruise control you are a cretin and probably from minnesota or illinois which i guess is another way of saying cretin take that to the bank brochachos

 

[Gally]

#1 requirement for when I get a new car is adaptive cruise control. Used it on a rental recently and OMG it's a life changer.

When we bought our minivan right before our second kid we were looking at the top model with all the bells and whistles (this was in 2005). It had the "laser guided cruise control". It wasn't something I thought I needed so when we were negotiating price the salesmen kept pointing out all these various things we didn't need. He was ready to sell so I kept downplaying all these "niceties" as we didn't need them. They didn't have a lesser model on the lot and for some reason they were pushing to move this car.

We got a great deal on it so bought it. I never realized how wonderful the adaptive cruise control would be. It truly is a life changer. Now when I am in other cars without it I get mad when I have to keep changing speeds because the yahoo in front of me can't maintain a constant speed.

 

[shuke]

People who don't on the highway are the worst.

 

[Gally]

if so, my wife's car has this and it can abruptly slow the car down at a rate far more jarring than my foot would. we'll be cruising along on the highway at 77 but in the distance is a car doing 68, the car senses this and instead of gradually slowing to 68 it will often suddenly hard brake to rapidly decelerate vs. in my car where i will slow gradually, or change lanes to not have to reduce speed.

I don't think this is true of all adaptive CC. The cars of mine that have had it slows smoothly when approaching a slower car. The only time i get the abrupt slow down is if a car changes lanes right in front of me at a slower speed but that is to be expected due to circumstances. In most cases when I am approaching a car that is driving slower the car slows moderately to maintain the speed of the car in front of me. I can also change the distance for the CC to start to react in slowing down if necessary.

The only annoying thing has been driving "into" the sun as it blinds the sensors and turns the CC off. The first time it happened I thought the car was stalling and something was wrong. It took a couple times before I realized what was happening.

 

[Gally]

This adaptive cruise control sounds awful.

Not all adaptive CC's are the same. It seems like there are better applications than others. I haven't had any of the issues described by some of the others.

 

[Gally]

That adaptive cruise does lull you into more of a passenger mindset where i find myself not paying attention as much especially when driving on roads that have some nice scenery to look at. its probably not a good thing.

I find myself sometimes just staying behind a car that is going slower and slower because the CC just keeps me at a safe distance and I don't always realize I am slowing way down. Then I realize I am not going 50 and change lanes and move around......never needing to hit the brake or gas.

 

[Gally]

You can also use buttons on your cruise control to adjust cruising speed up or down if traffic is light enough for you to have the necessary lead time. If you're cruising on the interstate between cities and then hit a patch of urban interstate with dense traffic ... yeah, you don't use cruise control in typical city stop-&-go.

I do this a lot in cars that don't have the adaptive CC. It's a really nice feature and makes it seem like you are driving a futuristic car by just pushing buttons to speed up and slow down.

 

[NutterButter]

Does anyone else's cruise work in bumper to bumper traffic? I think mine stops working below 25. It would be nice to not have to be worrying about moving forward and breaking.

 

[jm192]

I got a new car back in 2014. It was the first vehicle I'd ever driven with cruise control. Been using it pretty religiously ever since. I'm a little ADD. I'll get jamming to some good music and be 10-15 miles over the speed limit.

It's saved me from countless tickets.

 

[ChiefD]

Used it this morning on a stretch of road where the speed limit was 35. Set it on 39.

Watched my real-time gas mileage on my dashboard get better and better. I bet I saved .75 this morning.

Feels great.

 

[mr. furley]

if so, my wife's car has this and it can abruptly slow the car down at a rate far more jarring than my foot would. we'll be cruising along on the highway at 77 but in the distance is a car doing 68, the car senses this and instead of gradually slowing to 68 it will often suddenly hard brake to rapidly decelerate vs. in my car where i will slow gradually, or change lanes to not have to reduce speed.

I don't think this is true of all adaptive CC. The cars of mine that have had it slows smoothly when approaching a slower car. The only time i get the abrupt slow down is if a car changes lanes right in front of me at a slower speed but that is to be expected due to circumstances. In most cases when I am approaching a car that is driving slower the car slows moderately to maintain the speed of the car in front of me. I can also change the distance for the CC to start to react in slowing down if necessary.

The only annoying thing has been driving "into" the sun as it blinds the sensors and turns the CC off. The first time it happened I thought the car was stalling and something was wrong. It took a couple times before I realized what was happening.

we spent a lot of time driving this past week. many hours at highway speed. the abrupt braking is a deal breaker for me. we were driving on the expressway south of Chicago today, having just cleared a 2-lane closure, got up to cruise speed and with no cars within 100 feet of us in any lane, the car broke from 80 to 55 before i even had a chance to figure out wtf was happening and why.

scared the **** out of me.

thinking maybe there's something wrong with the vehicle. gonna have it taken in for a different industry recall here soon and going to ask them to check on it.

 

[Drunken knight]

Used it this morning on a stretch of road where the speed limit was 35. Set it on 39.

Watched my real-time gas mileage on my dashboard get better and better. I bet I saved .75 this morning.

Feels great.

Smith and wollensky on cd!

 

[Gally]

thinking maybe there's something wrong with the vehicle. gonna have it taken in for a different industry recall here soon and going to ask them to check on it.

That definitely seems like something is wrong. Never had that happen to me unless a car changed lines right in front of me warranting that type of response.

I guess it did happen when driving into the sun where the direct sun light "blinded" the sonar so it turned off. The first time it happened I was freaking out not knowing what was happening. Then I realized it was the sun and it was just shutting off the system.

 

[belljr]

if so, my wife's car has this and it can abruptly slow the car down at a rate far more jarring than my foot would. we'll be cruising along on the highway at 77 but in the distance is a car doing 68, the car senses this and instead of gradually slowing to 68 it will often suddenly hard brake to rapidly decelerate vs. in my car where i will slow gradually, or change lanes to not have to reduce speed.

I don't think this is true of all adaptive CC. The cars of mine that have had it slows smoothly when approaching a slower car. The only time i get the abrupt slow down is if a car changes lanes right in front of me at a slower speed but that is to be expected due to circumstances. In most cases when I am approaching a car that is driving slower the car slows moderately to maintain the speed of the car in front of me. I can also change the distance for the CC to start to react in slowing down if necessary.

The only annoying thing has been driving "into" the sun as it blinds the sensors and turns the CC off. The first time it happened I thought the car was stalling and something was wrong. It took a couple times before I realized what was happening.

we spent a lot of time driving this past week. many hours at highway speed. the abrupt braking is a deal breaker for me. we were driving on the expressway south of Chicago today, having just cleared a 2-lane closure, got up to cruise speed and with no cars within 100 feet of us in any lane, the car broke from 80 to 55 before i even had a chance to figure out wtf was happening and why.

scared the **** out of me.

thinking maybe there's something wrong with the vehicle. gonna have it taken in for a different industry recall here soon and going to ask them to check on it.

I'm sure you know this but you can adjust the distance it's detecting. Maybe change that? But I agree mine isn't always smooth, it's why I hate it

 

[rockaction]

Cruise control? You guys use cruise control?

If I wanted to be a passenger, I'd have somebody else drive.

Seriously, I have had Schmeabs's problems with the feet. That and varying speeds. I don't like it. If we're going to have self-driving cars, make them completely self-driving. Otherwise, I'm drivin'.

 

[mr. furley]

if so, my wife's car has this and it can abruptly slow the car down at a rate far more jarring than my foot would. we'll be cruising along on the highway at 77 but in the distance is a car doing 68, the car senses this and instead of gradually slowing to 68 it will often suddenly hard brake to rapidly decelerate vs. in my car where i will slow gradually, or change lanes to not have to reduce speed.

I don't think this is true of all adaptive CC. The cars of mine that have had it slows smoothly when approaching a slower car. The only time i get the abrupt slow down is if a car changes lanes right in front of me at a slower speed but that is to be expected due to circumstances. In most cases when I am approaching a car that is driving slower the car slows moderately to maintain the speed of the car in front of me. I can also change the distance for the CC to start to react in slowing down if necessary.

The only annoying thing has been driving "into" the sun as it blinds the sensors and turns the CC off. The first time it happened I thought the car was stalling and something was wrong. It took a couple times before I realized what was happening.

we spent a lot of time driving this past week. many hours at highway speed. the abrupt braking is a deal breaker for me. we were driving on the expressway south of Chicago today, having just cleared a 2-lane closure, got up to cruise speed and with no cars within 100 feet of us in any lane, the car broke from 80 to 55 before i even had a chance to figure out wtf was happening and why.

scared the **** out of me.

thinking maybe there's something wrong with the vehicle. gonna have it taken in for a different industry recall here soon and going to ask them to check on it.

I'm sure you know this but you can adjust the distance it's detecting. Maybe change that? But I agree mine isn't always smooth, it's why I hate it

not sure if we can. i'd rather have a mechanic do that than **** with it myself, though.

 

[belljr]

if so, my wife's car has this and it can abruptly slow the car down at a rate far more jarring than my foot would. we'll be cruising along on the highway at 77 but in the distance is a car doing 68, the car senses this and instead of gradually slowing to 68 it will often suddenly hard brake to rapidly decelerate vs. in my car where i will slow gradually, or change lanes to not have to reduce speed.

I don't think this is true of all adaptive CC. The cars of mine that have had it slows smoothly when approaching a slower car. The only time i get the abrupt slow down is if a car changes lanes right in front of me at a slower speed but that is to be expected due to circumstances. In most cases when I am approaching a car that is driving slower the car slows moderately to maintain the speed of the car in front of me. I can also change the distance for the CC to start to react in slowing down if necessary.

The only annoying thing has been driving "into" the sun as it blinds the sensors and turns the CC off. The first time it happened I thought the car was stalling and something was wrong. It took a couple times before I realized what was happening.

we spent a lot of time driving this past week. many hours at highway speed. the abrupt braking is a deal breaker for me. we were driving on the expressway south of Chicago today, having just cleared a 2-lane closure, got up to cruise speed and with no cars within 100 feet of us in any lane, the car broke from 80 to 55 before i even had a chance to figure out wtf was happening and why.

scared the **** out of me.

thinking maybe there's something wrong with the vehicle. gonna have it taken in for a different industry recall here soon and going to ask them to check on it.

I'm sure you know this but you can adjust the distance it's detecting. Maybe change that? But I agree mine isn't always smooth, it's why I hate it

not sure if we can. i'd rather have a mechanic do that than **** with it myself, though.

Hmm ....most just have an option of turning off the smart cruise all together and adjusting the following distance. It's usually the same button or at least a button on the cruise panel

 

[massraider]

I'm sure you know this but you can adjust the distance it's detecting.

Something I definitely did not know

 

[mr. furley]

I'm sure you know this but you can adjust the distance it's detecting.

Something I definitely did not know

i definitely did not

 

[belljr]

I'm sure you know this but you can adjust the distance it's detecting.

Something I definitely did not know

i definitely did not

Maybe it's only on specific vehicles?

What's your ride, I'll find out

 

[mr. furley]

I'm sure you know this but you can adjust the distance it's detecting.

Something I definitely did not know

i definitely did not

Maybe it's only on specific vehicles?

What's your ride, I'll find out

Pilot

 

[Beef Ravioli Part 2]

if so, my wife's car has this and it can abruptly slow the car down at a rate far more jarring than my foot would. we'll be cruising along on the highway at 77 but in the distance is a car doing 68, the car senses this and instead of gradually slowing to 68 it will often suddenly hard brake to rapidly decelerate vs. in my car where i will slow gradually, or change lanes to not have to reduce speed.

I don't think this is true of all adaptive CC. The cars of mine that have had it slows smoothly when approaching a slower car. The only time i get the abrupt slow down is if a car changes lanes right in front of me at a slower speed but that is to be expected due to circumstances. In most cases when I am approaching a car that is driving slower the car slows moderately to maintain the speed of the car in front of me. I can also change the distance for the CC to start to react in slowing down if necessary.

The only annoying thing has been driving "into" the sun as it blinds the sensors and turns the CC off. The first time it happened I thought the car was stalling and something was wrong. It took a couple times before I realized what was happening.

we spent a lot of time driving this past week. many hours at highway speed. the abrupt braking is a deal breaker for me. we were driving on the expressway south of Chicago today, having just cleared a 2-lane closure, got up to cruise speed and with no cars within 100 feet of us in any lane, the car broke from 80 to 55 before i even had a chance to figure out wtf was happening and why.

scared the **** out of me.

thinking maybe there's something wrong with the vehicle. gonna have it taken in for a different industry recall here soon and going to ask them to check on it.

On our Toyotas when you push the button to turn on the cruise control, you hold the button for an extra three seconds and it turns on the constant speed cruise control. When we bought the car, I pushed the cruise button and discovered it had the assisted cruise control and learned right away that I hated it.

 

[belljr]

I'm sure you know this but you can adjust the distance it's detecting.

Something I definitely did not know

i definitely did not

Maybe it's only on specific vehicles?

What's your ride, I'll find out

Pilot

I have a passport so I assume it's the same . When ACC is on yoe see 4 bars behind a car. The button on the right of the circular +/- control switches the distance.

How to Use Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) - 2022 Honda Passport EX-L | Honda Info Center

Cruising on the open highway has never been easier! Honda's Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) sets your cruise speed, an... Watch now on Honda Info Center

www.hondainfocenter.com