Braking for tumbleweeds

[sncup]

A few days ago my nephew was driving in eastern Colorado. It was very windy and there were tumbleweeds blowing across the interstate. One blew close in front of their rental car and suddenly the car activated the brakes hard. WHOW He didn’t know what happened until it happened 2 more times. The rental car has collusion avoidance and it braked hard to avoid the tumbleweeds. Being on cruise control at 75 mph to full brake is a serious wake up.

If I ever get a new vehicle with this on it I will certainly look how to deactivate it.

 

[Bull Barrel]

Collusion avoidance???

 

[Big Old Boy]

Imagine that happening on ice, what a ride!

 

[Watchman]

Collusion avoidance???

We can't talk about it unless we're in public. :mrgreen:

 

[vito]

I lived in El Paso in the late 1960's and drove a little VW bug. The tumbleweed was as big as my car at times, but I never slammed on the brakes to avoid knocking one out of my way. I did get a fair amount of scratches in my paint from those things. But tumbleweed was a piece of cake compared to getting caught in a dust storm in those days. With no a/c and temps well over 100 degrees, you had to pull off the road and wait it out, choosing between trying to leave your window open just a bit to get some air and being innundated with sand, or closing the windows fully and roasting. I can't imagine living without air conditioning now.

 

[Mobuck]

Be a bad time if a semi was just pulling out to pass.
I have absolutely no use for such things and would not buy a vehicle with such features.

 

[Cholo]

↑ This is supposedly a Chevy Impala under this semi. I could see this happening with that ridiculous nanny feature.

 

[gramps]

That Impala was impaled?
gramps

 

[coach]

More like obliterated.

 

[bogus bill]

Sickening!

 

[Colonialgirl]

I lived in El Paso in the late 1960's and drove a little VW bug. The tumbleweed was as big as my car at times, but I never slammed on the brakes to avoid knocking one out of my way. I did get a fair amount of scratches in my paint from those things. But tumbleweed was a piece of cake compared to getting caught in a dust storm in those days. With no a/c and temps well over 100 degrees, you had to pull off the road and wait it out, choosing between trying to leave your window open just a bit to get some air and being innundated with sand, or closing the windows fully and roasting. I can't imagine living without air conditioning now.

AND if you kept going, it sanded the paint off the hood and your windshield got a bit blurry !!

 

[Captain America]

Our system doesn't work that way, it'll give you warnings and prep the brakes but it will not stop the car.

 

[vito]

I lived in El Paso in the late 1960's and drove a little VW bug. The tumbleweed was as big as my car at times, but I never slammed on the brakes to avoid knocking one out of my way. I did get a fair amount of scratches in my paint from those things. But tumbleweed was a piece of cake compared to getting caught in a dust storm in those days. With no a/c and temps well over 100 degrees, you had to pull off the road and wait it out, choosing between trying to leave your window open just a bit to get some air and being innundated with sand, or closing the windows fully and roasting. I can't imagine living without air conditioning now.

AND if you kept going, it sanded the paint off the hood and your windshield got a bit blurry !!

I had to replace my windshield more than once when I lived in El Paso.

 

[Big Old Boy]

I remember stopping overnight at a truck stop in El Paso the wife and I were both starving but it was blowing so hard we waited till morning to get something to eat and yes we were rocked to sleep by the wind.

 

[SAJohn]

I once came apon a sight similar to the one in the above photo. A convertible sports car of some type (it was two mangled to tell) had obviously been passing on a blind corner and ate the front end bumper of a Mack truck.

 

[Pistolero]

This is what I use to protect my F-150 from the huge tumbleweeds that blow across the interstates and highways in New Mexico.

 

[WAYNO]

Unless you've seen one in person, a feller couldn't imagine a tumbleweed storm. In minutes, a road can completely disappear. Even interstate highways. If I had a collision avoidance system engaged, I'd still be stuck on I-84 in the Columbia River Basin. :shock:


https://www.yaktrinews.com/father-travels-through-storm-of-tumbleweeds-on-sr-240-with-son/

 

[powder smoke]

↑ This is supposedly a Chevy Impala under this semi. I could see this happening with that ridiculous nanny feature.

I can't Imagine! Tumble Weeds causing that would be terrible.
Food for thought! ps

 

[kramden]

I lived in El Paso in the late 1960's and drove a little VW bug. The tumbleweed was as big as my car at times, but I never slammed on the brakes to avoid knocking one out of my way. I did get a fair amount of scratches in my paint from those things. But tumbleweed was a piece of cake compared to getting caught in a dust storm in those days. With no a/c and temps well over 100 degrees, you had to pull off the road and wait it out, choosing between trying to leave your window open just a bit to get some air and being innundated with sand, or closing the windows fully and roasting. I can't imagine living without air conditioning now.

AND if you kept going, it sanded the paint off the hood and your windshield got a bit blurry !!

I was at Fort Bliss Texas in 1968. Any car that was roughly 2 years old had a dull finish from the sand.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Now THAT, my friends is a BULL BAR!!!

:wink: :D :D :D :wink:

 

[Uncle Howie]

I have absolutely no use for such things and would not buy a vehicle with such features.

I agree, and I’ll add “traction control,” Daytime Running Lights, automatic headlights, etc. to that list. Between my wife and I we’ve had about five dead batteries over the years directly related to that crap, at least three of them when on the road.

I’m old enough to know when to turn the headlights on, and it’s a little hard to sneak anywhere (like into an area for hunting) if your blankety lights are on! :twisted:

Problem is, it’s getting harder to get a vehicle without all that crap on it. I suspect that eventually one won’t be able to do so. :x

“The only thing “automatic” that I want is my transmission!”
(Four-wheeled vehicles only, NOT on my motorcycle!)

 

[vito]

Daytime running lights and "automatic" setting on the lights is something I find useful. Generally I NEVER touch the lights control. I leave it on "Auto" and it gives me the daytime running lights, then automatically switches to normal headlights when it gets darker outside. Years ago I had a Honda Civic that did not have this feature, and it also did not automatically turn off the lights when the engine was turned off. I would leave for a work location in the dark in the early morning, and get to where I needed to go and by that time it would be bright sunlight. So every once in awhile I would forget to switch the lights off when I turned off the engine, only to find a dead battery when it was time to head for home.

I think traction control is useful, just as ABS is useful. The car is much less likely to start skidding if the traction control feature senses a wheel slipping and shifts power to the opposite side. All of this happens faster than a person can normally react and in my opinion, makes for safer driving.

I guess some folks just don't like modern changes, wishing for crank windows, and a lack of power braking or power steering. Good for them. But not for me.

 

[Colonialgirl]

I agree, and I’ll add “traction control,” Daytime Running Lights,
I’m old enough to know when to turn the headlights on, and it’s a little hard to sneak anywhere (like into an area for hunting) if your blankety lights are on! :twisted:

Problem is, it’s getting harder to get a vehicle without all that crap on it. I suspect that eventually one won’t be able to do so. :x

“The only thing “automatic” that I want is my transmission!”
(Four-wheeled vehicles only, NOT on my motorcycle!)

My '98 Volvo S-70 has "Day time" running lights (headlights) but it also has a switch that allows me to turn them "OFF". Daytime headlights are a safety feature making your vehicle MUCH easier to be seen by on-coming traffic; There ARE times of the day when they are essential.

 

[Galaxiedan]

What about the auto shut off and start? I was sitting next to a new Cadillac today in traffic that kept restarting and shutting off everytime we moved 10 feet. The only thing i kept thinking is how much that starter costs to replace.

 

[vito]

MyDodge Durango has the auto start feature, which does take getting used to. A simple button disabled this fuel saving feature. At a stop the engine may shut off but instantly is on if I take my foot off the brake petal or touch the gas pedal. Very fast response time. I was also told that cars with this feature have extra strong starters.

 

[exavid]

I hope it has a larger battery as well.

 

[coach]

I hope it has a larger battery as well.

I noticed on an add for batteries from a local dealer that the warranty stated for the batteries didn’t include batteries installed in cars with the auto start feature.

 

[Captain America]

MyDodge Durango has the auto start feature, which does take getting used to. A simple button disabled this fuel saving feature. At a stop the engine may shut off but instantly is on if I take my foot off the brake petal or touch the gas pedal. Very fast response time. I was also told that cars with this feature have extra strong starters.

It has a different starter, an extra battery, and a lot of fail safes built into the system. Start/Stop will not work if the system detects battery health that is not up to par. We have no problems with the systems, we have replaced a couple of batteries that would still work but the Start/Stop was no longer happy with them. We are starting to see older models that are illuminating the check engine light when someone replaces the battery and the new battery doesn't have enough CCA.

On a side note, I drove a Cherokee with the system and didn't care for it at first, after a while I didn't notice it. Depending on your driving habits it absolutely saves fuel, I've done the math...in a V6 Cherokee I was getting 22mpg without the Start/Stop and 27 with it(I sit in a lot of traffic).

 

[Pat-inCO]

Daytime headlights are a safety feature making your vehicle MUCH easier to be
seen by on-coming traffic; There ARE times of the day when they are essential.

I agree, and will add that I was amazed how much easier it is to see oncoming
traffic in the city, with its deep shadows between tall buildings.

I'll also agree that I will NOT purchase a vehicle that has auto-brake "feature".
One of the ads on TV (I think from Nissan) shows an idiot rubber necking and
almost hitting another idiot crossing the street who has his head is buried in his
phone. I think Nissan needs new advertising people.

Golly Gee!
It sounds like most of us are saying SNOWFLAKES GO HOME!
(to another planet :roll: )

Subtitled: Learn to drive, or leave your car parked.

Sub-Subtitle:
Drivers licenses from Cracker-Jack boxes, or Monkey Wards are no longer valid.


That's my story and I'm sticking to it. So there! :wink:

:D

 

[exavid]

I think I'll just stick to rigs that keep running at stoplights and such. Somehow it seems to me that the less complication in the engine compartment the better. I'm willing to accept less miles per gallons over unnecessary complications any time.