Extra Credit Project: Engineering Communication in the Real World

 

Henry D. Villa

Department of English, The City College of New York

ENGL 21007: Writing for Engineering

Professor Kristine Slentz

13 May 2025

Table of Contents 

Table of Contents 2

Tesla Model 3 Owner’s manual: Limitations and Warnings 3

Sumary 6

Tesla Model 3 Owner’s manual: Limitations and Warnings

“Traffic-Aware Cruise Control

While using Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, it is the driver’s responsibility to stay alert, drive safely, and be in control of the vehicle at all times. Always keep your eyes on the road when driving and be prepared to take corrective action as needed.

 

In addition, it is the driver’s responsibility to cruise at a safe speed and maintain a safe following distance based on road conditions and applicable speed limits. Be aware of the following limitations while Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is active.

 

-There may be situations where the cruising speed may not change when the speed limit changes.

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control does not adapt driving speed based on road and driving conditions. Do not use Traffic-Aware Cruise Control on winding roads with sharp curves, on icy or slippery road surfaces, or when weather conditions (such as heavy rain, snow, fog, etc.) make it inappropriate to drive at a consistent speed.

Do not rely on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to maintain an accurate or appropriate following distance.

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may be unable to provide adequate speed control because of limited braking capability and hills. It can also misjudge the distance from a vehicle ahead. Driving downhill can increase driving speed, causing Model 3 to exceed your set speed (and potentially the road’s speed limit).

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may occasionally cause Model 3 to brake when not required or when you are not expecting it. This can be caused by closely following a vehicle ahead, detecting vehicles or objects in adjacent lanes (especially on curves), etc.

Due to limitations inherent in the onboard GPS (Global Positioning System), you may experience situations in which Model 3 slows down, especially near exits or off-ramps where a curve is detected and/or you are navigating to a destination and not following the route.

In some cases (such as having insufficient data), Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may not automatically reduce the set speed on the highway interchange or off-ramp.

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may not detect all objects and, especially when cruising over 50 mph (80 km/h), may not brake/decelerate when a vehicle or object is only partially in the driving lane or when a vehicle you are following moves out of your driving path and a stationary or slow-moving vehicle or object is in front of you.

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control may react to vehicles or objects that either do not exist, or are not in your lane of travel, causing Model 3 to slow down unnecessarily or inappropriately.

-WARNING

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is particularly unlikely to operate as intended in the following types of situations:

• The road has sharp curves or significant changes in elevation.
• Road signs and signals are unclear, ambiguous, or poorly maintained.
• Visibility is poor (due to heavy rain, snow, hail, etc. or poorly lit roadways at night)
• You are driving in a tunnel or next to a highway divider that interferes with the view of the camera(s)
• Bright light (such as from oncoming headlights or direct sunlight) interferes with the view of the camera(s).

-WARNING

The list above does not represent an exhaustive list of situations that may interfere with proper operation of Traffic-Aware Cruise Control. Traffic-Aware Cruise Control can cancel unexpectedly at any time for unforeseen reasons. Always watch the road in front of you and stay prepared to take appropriate action. It is the driver’s responsibility to be in control of Model 3 at all times.

-WARNING

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is designed for your driving comfort and convenience and is not a collision warning or avoidance system. Never depend on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to adequately slow down Model 3. Always watch the road in front of you and be prepared to take corrective action at all times. Failure to do so can result in serious injury or death.

-WARNING

Although Traffic-Aware Cruise Control is capable of detecting pedestrians and cyclists, never depend on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control to adequately slow Model 3 down for them. Failure to do so can result in serious injury or death.”

Summary

The “Tesla Model 3 Owner’s manual” is essentially a guide-book for operating the vehicle. It covers basic functions like starting the car, auto-pilot, sentry-mode, charging, and most importantly, it gives warnings advising owners not to be careless while using features exclusive to Tesla (auto-pilot, track-mode, sentry-mode, etc). The section addressed above is from the “Tesla Model 3 Owner’s manual”, specifically a subsection from the ‘Limitations and Warnings’ section “Traffic Aware Cruise-Control”. This subsection covers the function, limitations, and safety warnings related to Tesla’s traffic aware Cruise-system. This feature helps maintain a fixed speed and distance from vehicles behind and ahead, however, the driver is fully responsible for staying alert and staying in control regardless of the situation. The mode does not account for road conditions or curves, and is not designed for complex driving environments, such as slippery slopes, poor weather conditions, and high-traffic. To add on, the section emphasizes limitations to this feature, including delayed or inaccurate responses, misjudging vehicle distance, abruptly braking, and inability to detect vehicles at high speeds or low visibility. In addition to the limitations, the subsection adds warnings (in capital) advising the owner to be in control at all times because this feature is not a collision avoidance system and should never be relied on detecting or reacting to civilians or sudden hazards, and failure to aby by these warnings and limitations can result in property damage, serious injury, and even death.