4 ms·

> I don't think however that 1.2s is a bad reaction time for a complex situation. 1.2 seconds after hitting a predestrian. That's a pretty poor reaction time.

> I don't think however that 1.2s is a bad reaction time for a complex situation. 1.2 seconds after hitting a predestrian. That's a pretty poor reaction time. Typically you want to apply the breaks before you come into contact with a person.

Dylan16807 7y ago
That has nothing to do with the reaction time. Yeah, they weren't looking at the road, but that's a separate issue that doesn't involve reaction time. Going from an unexpected buzzer to full control of the vehicle in a single second is a pretty good speed.
- EpicEng 7y ago
  No it's not, and hitting the brakes isn't "full control". Honestly, how long do you think it would take you to hit the breaks if something jumped out at you? It would be almost instant. Edit: ok, I was just making a bit of a joke at first, but I looked it up. Reaction times vary by person, but tend to be between 0.75 and 3 seconds. 2.5s is used as a standard, so I guess I have to conceded that 1.25s is pretty good... I guess, for whatever that's worth.
  - pkolaczk 7y ago
    Just a few minutes ago I had a very similar situation, although at day time. I was going at about 40 kmph straight forward my lane near a bus standing at a bus stop at the right side of the street. At the moment I was passing the bus, a young person almost jumped out in front of me, maybe 15-25 meters away. They were hidden behind the bus, so I had no way to see this coming in advance. Fortunately they realized I was coming and backed off and I also managed to stop completely before them. So if my reaction was 5.7 seconds, I'd definitely have applied brakes far too late. I conclude the total time from classifying the object moving into my way and applying brakes was less than a second. (And btw, my car has emergency braking / pedestrian avoiding system and it didn't trigger, so I was faster).
    - Piskvorrr 7y ago
      You had experience "hope that nobody jumps out from behind that bus, as people tend to do", however. Hard to formalize, IMHO.
  - romwell 7y ago
    >Edit: ok, I was just making a bit of a joke at first, but I looked it up. Reaction times vary by person, but tend to be between 0.75 and 3 seconds. 2.5s is used as a standard, so I guess I have to conceded that 1.25s is pretty good... I guess, for whatever that's worth. We have a rare sight here: someone not being right, learning more about the situation, changing their opinion, and then making an edit about it all. Kudos, and thanks for making this a better place for discussions :)
    - EpicEng 7y ago
      It is possible! Happens more on HN than it does on Reddit at least. I'm ok with being wrong.
sarah180 7y ago
> you want to apply the breaks before you come into contact with a person Usually breaks are applied shortly after the moment of contact, but the brakes should certainly be applied earlier. (I'm genuinely sorry, but I couldn't resist.)
- EpicEng 7y ago
  ...darn it. I think I have to leave it that way now. Can I blame my phone? Yeah, I'm gonna blame my phone.

Dylan16807 7y ago

That has nothing to do with the reaction time. Yeah, they weren't looking at the road, but that's a separate issue that doesn't involve reaction time. Going from an unexpected buzzer to full control of the vehicle in a single second is a pretty good speed.

EpicEng 7y ago
No it's not, and hitting the brakes isn't "full control". Honestly, how long do you think it would take you to hit the breaks if something jumped out at you? It would be almost instant. Edit: ok, I was just making a bit of a joke at first, but I looked it up. Reaction times vary by person, but tend to be between 0.75 and 3 seconds. 2.5s is used as a standard, so I guess I have to conceded that 1.25s is pretty good... I guess, for whatever that's worth.
- pkolaczk 7y ago
  Just a few minutes ago I had a very similar situation, although at day time. I was going at about 40 kmph straight forward my lane near a bus standing at a bus stop at the right side of the street. At the moment I was passing the bus, a young person almost jumped out in front of me, maybe 15-25 meters away. They were hidden behind the bus, so I had no way to see this coming in advance. Fortunately they realized I was coming and backed off and I also managed to stop completely before them. So if my reaction was 5.7 seconds, I'd definitely have applied brakes far too late. I conclude the total time from classifying the object moving into my way and applying brakes was less than a second. (And btw, my car has emergency braking / pedestrian avoiding system and it didn't trigger, so I was faster).
  - Piskvorrr 7y ago
    You had experience "hope that nobody jumps out from behind that bus, as people tend to do", however. Hard to formalize, IMHO.
- romwell 7y ago
  >Edit: ok, I was just making a bit of a joke at first, but I looked it up. Reaction times vary by person, but tend to be between 0.75 and 3 seconds. 2.5s is used as a standard, so I guess I have to conceded that 1.25s is pretty good... I guess, for whatever that's worth. We have a rare sight here: someone not being right, learning more about the situation, changing their opinion, and then making an edit about it all. Kudos, and thanks for making this a better place for discussions :)
  - EpicEng 7y ago
    It is possible! Happens more on HN than it does on Reddit at least. I'm ok with being wrong.

sarah180 7y ago

> you want to apply the breaks before you come into contact with a person Usually breaks are applied shortly after the moment of contact, but the brakes should certainly be applied earlier. (I'm genuinely sorry, but I couldn't resist.)

EpicEng 7y ago
...darn it. I think I have to leave it that way now. Can I blame my phone? Yeah, I'm gonna blame my phone.