Was the Tesla being driven in the FSD mode? or was this a simple human error?
You don't actively engage AEB, at the kinds of low speeds involved AEB would have engaged and at least helped stop the car.
This was traffic that was going maybe 20 mph, and the car still hit me solidly enough for my car to lurch forward and almost hit the one in front of me
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But as an aside, this is why Tesla's "Full Self Driving" shouldn't be on the market: It is always human error.
Even if FSD was enabled (I hope it wasn't) it'd be the human's fault for not reacting.
But it could also be a case of the person turned it off because of course Tesla let’s you control that.
IMO if the car thinks you’re going to crash it shouldn’t let you override AEB period. Why this isn’t a law…
Seriously?!? Tesla drivers learn to basically always have their foot on the accelerator, because the car slows quite aggressively with the accelerator all the way released.
IMO the one-foot model makes it quite hard to drive without lurching a bit and without unnecessary accidental light breaking while cruising. I often imagine that careful haptic feedback on the pedals could enable a much better one-pedal or blended braking experience.
(it is crazy to me how many brands only have the good safety stuff as part of some ridiculous 9000$ sunroom and leather and Sirius xm package / trim ;-< )
Contrary to some of the replies, at low speeds AEB does override the accelerator, unlike the highway ACC component of AP, so it should have engaged.
I'm pretty sure my Subaru does the same. But I'm not brave enough to actually try a rear-end.
I've been thinking of getting a big cardboard box to try with, but so far it's only an idea :)
Civic 2016
When these systems were new, many vehicles were only able to decrease collision speeds. These days, many vehicles completely avoid crashes at both 12 and 25mph.
Even a new base Honda Civic won’t hit the car in front of it at 25mph. (Or a pedestrian!). https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/honda/civic-4-door-hatc...
FWIW, Then unintentionally I had a bit of real world confirmation: a few months ago a car in front of me in slow traffic made a very sudden and complete stop.
I stepped on the brakes; after a second, as I slowed down, the brake feel completely changed and became harder, and I realized that I hadn't been alone - initially, car was braking for/with me, as confirmed with the massive orange letters on the dash board. Then as the system felt it was out of most immediate danger, it released and it was just me braking (that was the brake pedal feel change).
I do occasionally have it engage stage 1 of 3 (1 Visual -> 2 Audio -> 3 Auto Brake). It happens once a month predictable on very slight curves when it thinks I may be accelerating into oncoming traffic.