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Newest Tesla Autopilot Data Shows A 40% Drop in Crashes (bloomberg.com)
There's a surprise in the data from an investigation into Tesla safety by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
An anonymous reader quotes Bloomberg:
[W]hile all Tesla vehicles come with the hardware necessary for Autopilot, you need a software upgrade that costs thousands of dollars to make it work. Since buyers can add Autopilot features after purchase, this provides a perfect before-and-after comparison. It turns out that, according to the data Tesla gave investigators, installing Autopilot prevents crashes -- by an astonishing 40 percent...
Now -- thanks to an investigation that initially hurt the company -- there is finally some real data, and it's good news for Tesla... As the software matures to match the new hardware, Musk said on Thursday via a Tweet, Tesla is targeting a 90 percent reduction in car crashes.
UPDATE (5/4/18): The NHTSA has now clarified that their study "did not assess the effectiveness of this technology.
UPDATE (2/16/19): The study's underlying data reveals serious flaws in the methodology that undermine its credibility, according to new analysis from a research and consulting firm.
Now -- thanks to an investigation that initially hurt the company -- there is finally some real data, and it's good news for Tesla... As the software matures to match the new hardware, Musk said on Thursday via a Tweet, Tesla is targeting a 90 percent reduction in car crashes.
UPDATE (5/4/18): The NHTSA has now clarified that their study "did not assess the effectiveness of this technology.
UPDATE (2/16/19): The study's underlying data reveals serious flaws in the methodology that undermine its credibility, according to new analysis from a research and consulting firm.
To someone who is uninformed ...
Since these "uninformed" people don't actually own a Tesla, it doesn't matter one iota what they think about the system. If you actually own a Tesla, the capabilities and limitations of the system are very very clear.
Also, an autopilot on an aircraft doesn't completely fly the plane all by itself either. Pilots understand that. Do you think they should rename it so the passenger in seat 22C also understands?
But the AutoPilot in an aircraft and and in this case the Tesla do the same thing. They assist in control of the aircraft. AutoPilots do not replace the pilot or relegate his/her duties to that of a passenger, you still have to have a pilot or you aren't going anywhere. The name is appropriate.
The Tesla Autopilot is pretty good for how early in car automation we are. It would be a terrible inconvenience to require you to put your hands on the wheel when you are driving thru some stretches of the American south-west, like going between Phoenix and LA on i10. Just like it would be a terrible inconvenience to expect the auto-pilot of a passenger jet liner to require input every three seconds before it disengages between Heathrow and JFK. There is no reason for it. There is no need for a law.
Will accidents happen? Sure. Just like aircraft accidents still happen. The goal of the technology is to reduce the chance of an accident happening, not eliminate it altogether, while providing some amount of relief for the pilot / driver. It is pretty hard to keep at attention for many hours on end when the task is so mundane. As the technology gets better and better, and more wide-spread, we will see more and more benefits from this technology, like reduced energy consumption by drafting closely to the car infant of you, or reduced traffic congestion by synchronized acceleration, intersection control, etc.. etc..