Reply to post: Its the infamous four way stop

Tesla's self-driving code may ignore stop signs, act unsafe. Patch coming ... soon

martinusher Silver badge

Its the infamous four way stop

The US scatters stop signs like confetti on its suburban streets, requiring each driver to come to a complete stop before proceeding over the intersection. Human drivers should do this even if the intersection appears clear partly, its not other vehicles so much as pedestrians and the occasional cop car that you're looking for. (Plus the occasional driver that just barrels through the intersection.) For many drivers, though, its customary to do what is known in California as a "rolling stop" -- you slow down to well below walking pace to check the intersection before driving through it. Since a Tesla has -- literally -- eyes in the back of its head it can check all directions of an intersection a lot quicker and more accurately than a human so its probably safe if not strictly speaking obeying the letter of the law.

There is the question of whether you should be using Autopilot on a residential street. Depending on the time of day you may have to use a lot of judgment about what's likely to happen. Fortunately a Tesla should at least keep to the speed limit so that should compensate for not having local knowledge of likely hazards.

I should mention that cyclists routinely ignore stop signs.

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