Featured BBC replicates a Tesla problem on a test track

Holy cow! You mean, just like flying & landing an Airbus, the pilot actually still has to still pay attention sometimes? Who'da thunk!

These drama-fests lack some 'small' (omitted) details. For example - IF the same exact FAIL/scenario happens 50x for every 1 billion miles on cars w/out any driver assist ..... but only happens 25x per 1 billion miles on cars EQUIPPED w/driver assist .... then all cars ought to have the feature(s). But where is the drama in that. No - unfortunately there's no, "OH MY GOD! " factor in that.
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Funny you should mention Airbus.....
Air France Flight 447 - Wikipedia

 

i thought auto pilot's were not fully autonomous yet. do they know something i don't?

but the premise is correct, humans are still and will always be the problem.

do we need more legislation to slow down safety tech implementation, or would these darwin winners likely be crashing their cars anyway?

 

do we know that more tesla's are crashing than any other make, or is there no other with 'autopilot'?

 

Tesla Model S Tops List Of Most Expensive To Insure

 

geee - imagine that ... hi ins rates for cars costing 6 figures? (like lambo Porsche & Ferrari), & that break speed records? (like the same 3). Just makes no sense to me

Both our old '16 mS & current' 017 X cost less to insure than our Strange Rover cost to insure, but more than our hybrid SUV awd Lexus' ins cost. Too bad insideeve can't readily grasp that these cars are less commonly driven around Podunk states or counties. Rather instead they're more commonly driven among other expensive car areas, and in congested areas. Believe it or not, the actuaries' job is to take account for such things as well as individual driving records - much lesscost of parts/labor.

iirc its an extremely limited Chinese import - pity gm made that volitional choice.
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Given the slowness of a human's reaction time to a sudden unexpected obstacle, what would have happened had the human been driving? That obstacle is seen but then you have to sense it isn't moving when you expect it to be moving at about the same speed you are. That takes two reaction times and then you have to make your decision to swerve or brake and then physically do it. Been there, done just what the Tesla did. Plowed into the back of a red pick up with the early morning sun staring me in the face. I braked but totaled my car. Not even an airbag deployed.

 

Yikes! Hope you were no worse for wear.
Using AP2, i've deliberately delayed intervening when some turd swerve/cuts right in front of the X, even as traffic in front of mr. turd is screeching to a halt. Both the car & i saw the approaching disaster, & i feel the car brake hard just milliseconds prior to my attempt to intervene. Because of the
X's height - driver can see over cars ahead. That advantage means at best, imo the car can react no faster than humans. So yea, if you don't pay attention - it's at the peril of driver & their passengers.
It can't mysteriously transport you out of harms way. Nature will continue to delete our defective chromosomes so the next gen won't be worse.
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Perhaps a big part is that a pilot license requires significantly more training than a driver license. So the misnomer “autopilot” may be disavowed by ~all pilots. Unfortunately, with perpetuating that poor descriptor, even if 98-99% of drivers understand that “autopilot” is not true to its namesake, that allows for some serious driving errors. Again human/education/training issues.

 

Which does nothing to show an increase in the number of accidents.
As a matter of fact, it implies fewer accidents.

The linked article from the same site talks about how a UK insurance company offers a discount for Tesla owners with AP and states a lower rate of accidents.

Accidents with Tesla’s, especially running AP catches a lot of new headlines. In the last few weeks, there have been three car fires that hit the local news, none of those made national news. Car accidents don’t even get mentioned.

 

Orientation for people picking up their Tesla is extremely clear about the purpose and limitations of autopilot.
I do agree though, the term was a poor one to choose.

 

unless they plow thru the front of dunkin donuts.

 

They should call it safety pilot. The name will mislead and cause more accidents. Heck people can't drive most of the time the old fashion way!

 

No doubt.

It is still amazing in any number of educational endeavors that while a large majority pick up on clear instructions, a small but significant percent remain oblivious. "Oh, when you said don't do that, you meant don't do that..." (we need a facepalm emoji). One of the wonders of the human brain.

Advanced driving assist features help avoid accidents and will only get better from here, but we may also want to consider mandatory training for new driver licensees and perhaps renewals that shows competence in appropriately using this new technology.

 

Insurance rates aren't a gauge of a model's chance of being in an accident. Between two cars with the same chance of being damaged, the one with aluminum parts will cost more to insure simply because aluminum costs more to fix than steel.

Do you mean limited by model or where usable?
It will be an option on every Cadillac by 2020.
Limiting its use to highways that have been lidar mapped is probably a good idea in light of the press Autopilot accidents generate, and the fact idiots can still get a drivers' license.

Only because the term's meaning in common parlance is different from the technical one used by the aircraft industry; like theory's in public vs the science fields.

 

Absolutely. Unfortunately some people don’t listen and don’t read. It is one of the reasons the rest of us can’t have nice things