> "As road conditions became increasingly uncertain, the vehicle again alerted the driver to put his hands on the wheel," said Tesla. "He did not do so and shortly thereafter the vehicle collided with a post on the edge of the roadway."
This is the real danger of autopilot: not that it is unreliable but that humans are lazy and don't think rare events (like dangerous situations that result in a crash without intervention) don't happen to them.
I'm not sure autopilot is a good middle ground between assistance and full automation exactly because of what these accidents show. It basically makes the typical ride so uneventful and mind-numbingly boring drivers stop paying attention and become unable to react appropriately when a dangerous situation does occur.
Cruise control had similar problems: it reduces speeding-related accidents (because drivers are less likely to micro-optimize their speed) but it increases the risk of rear-ending because drivers don't have to stay as alert for the majority of the driving (and then miss those situations in which they need to react quickly).
Humans are not good at staying attentive for extended periods of timing, especially when nothing ever happens. Self-driving cars can fix this by removing the need for human intervention, but autopilot seems like one of those technologies that should be safer in theory but ultimately fails to consider the human factor.
This is the real danger of autopilot: not that it is unreliable but that humans are lazy and don't think rare events (like dangerous situations that result in a crash without intervention) don't happen to them.
I'm not sure autopilot is a good middle ground between assistance and full automation exactly because of what these accidents show. It basically makes the typical ride so uneventful and mind-numbingly boring drivers stop paying attention and become unable to react appropriately when a dangerous situation does occur.
Cruise control had similar problems: it reduces speeding-related accidents (because drivers are less likely to micro-optimize their speed) but it increases the risk of rear-ending because drivers don't have to stay as alert for the majority of the driving (and then miss those situations in which they need to react quickly).
Humans are not good at staying attentive for extended periods of timing, especially when nothing ever happens. Self-driving cars can fix this by removing the need for human intervention, but autopilot seems like one of those technologies that should be safer in theory but ultimately fails to consider the human factor.