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I think if we were starting from scratch that having just one pedal for velocity/acceleration control in a vehicle would be better than having a gas pedal and b
by njarboe 7y ago
I think if we were starting from scratch that having just one pedal for velocity/acceleration control in a vehicle would be better than having a gas pedal and break pedal. It is nice to have the vehicle slow down when you let up on the gas pedal and not have to move over to the break pedal. My Honda 550 motorcycle was much more fun to drive hard in the country than my Kawasaki 650. With the Honda the engine breaking was sufficient all most all of the time while on the Kawasaki I would have to engage the break before most curves.
- Marsymars 7y agoFrom a UX perspective a single pedal might be better, but from an efficiency perspective, I'd rather have manual control over acceleration and braking. Heck, given the option, I'd try a car with three separate controls for standard brakes, regenerative braking and acceleration. I expect it would be a lateral move in complexity compared to the stick shift I currently drive.
- njarboe 7y agoA single pedal would be manual control over acceleration and braking. All the way off is full breaking (or stopped), half way down is coasting, and all the way down is full acceleration. Society could never transition to such a control system, but I would love to try it. If Tesla's pedals are completely drive-by-wire, they could pretty easily set things up to run that way.
- davidgould 7y agoTesla’s have this as part of the selectable “Hold Mode” since an update a few weeks ago. Let off the pedal completely and it slows rapidly to a complete and very smooth stop. It’s surprisingly easy to get used to and one can drive for days without ever touching the brake pedal. It also makes the car slightly more efficient. The brake pedal in Tesla’s controls only the friction brakes, the accelerator controls acceleration and deceleration via the motor(s).