Car and Driver tests Tesla's autopilot
05-02-21, 02:38 PM
#16
Lexus Fanatic
when activated in the Autopilot menu, an alert reads: "Navigate on Autopilot does not make your Model 3 autonomous. Like other Autopilot features, the driver is still responsible for the car at all times."
Last edited by Toys4RJill; 05-02-21 at 02:48 PM.
05-04-21, 07:12 AM
#17
Why Tesla Autopilot Safety Concerns Are Unfounded
tldr; autopilot is much better than human drivers.
05-04-21, 08:35 AM
#19
Contrary to what the Full Self-Driving package is called, Autopilot doesn't drive the car. The driver operates a car that is equipped with Autopilot. Autopilot is meant to assist the human driver. Since Autopilot doesn't replace the human driver, it can't be better.
"All US vehicles" is a very wide range of vehicles. They don't specify, but this figure likely includes vehicles that don't even have driver assistance systems, or even ABS. It's an engineered statistic that provides some "ooh" and "ahh" responses until you actually think about the comparison.
As Blaze876 mentioned, it would be better to compare statistics from those driving Autopilot-equipped Teslas with statistics from those driving cars equipped with EyeSight, Super Cruise, Safety Sense 2.0, SmartSense, etc.
"All US vehicles" is a very wide range of vehicles. They don't specify, but this figure likely includes vehicles that don't even have driver assistance systems, or even ABS. It's an engineered statistic that provides some "ooh" and "ahh" responses until you actually think about the comparison.
As Blaze876 mentioned, it would be better to compare statistics from those driving Autopilot-equipped Teslas with statistics from those driving cars equipped with EyeSight, Super Cruise, Safety Sense 2.0, SmartSense, etc.
Last edited by sm1ke; 05-04-21 at 08:41 AM.
05-04-21, 08:39 AM
#20
Lexus Champion
As usual I post hard numbers people counter with nothing but opinion.
05-04-21, 08:42 AM
#21
Lexus Test Driver
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, that Autopilot makes driving safer if used appropriately. The human being has to be aware and monitor the situation to be used effectively. In many instances, it easily helps with fatigue and general safety. The horror stories we hear about are the outliers that have too much trust in the system and play video games or crawl in the back or sleep during autopilot. Its only a level 2 system and Tesla owners for the most part know this as its constantly nagging you for input in the steering wheel. Try to trick the system and bad things happen...
05-04-21, 08:50 AM
#22
Is there something wrong with questioning the "hard numbers" you provided? Do you really think it's fair to compare an Autopilot-equipped Tesla to a base-model 1997 Honda Accord? Of course the Tesla would be safer to drive in that comparison.
No doubt Autopilot makes driving safer. The same can be said about other driving assistance systems. To find out how much better Autopilot is, it should be compared against other vehicles equipped with driving assistance systems.
No doubt Autopilot makes driving safer. The same can be said about other driving assistance systems. To find out how much better Autopilot is, it should be compared against other vehicles equipped with driving assistance systems.
Last edited by sm1ke; 05-04-21 at 08:55 AM.
05-04-21, 09:06 AM
#23
Lexus Champion
Do you really think it's fair to compare an Autopilot-equipped Tesla to a base-model 1997 Honda Accord? Of course the Tesla would be safer to drive in that comparison.
No doubt Autopilot makes driving safer. The same can be said about other driving assistance systems. To find out how much better Autopilot is, it should be compared against other vehicles equipped with driving assistance systems.
05-04-21, 09:29 AM
#24
Yes, I think that number might be enough to influence the statistic. That's why I brought it up.
Then compare, post the numbers. If you can't we work with the numbers we have. As for it not being fair to compare to all other cars on the road why not? If you start cherry picking you could probably make Tesla look even better since some cars get in way more crashes. Or you could make Tesla not look as good by cherry picking. So comparing to all other cars on the road is reasonable. BTW ABS has been mandatory for all cars since 2004 the average age of a car in the United States is 11.8 this largely invalidates the ABS argument.
05-04-21, 09:43 AM
#25
Lexus Champion
Bottom line is a Tesla using autopilot is much better than other cars on average, there has been no attempt to hide underlying numbers so what's the problem? A win is a win especially when it comes to safety. If other driver assistance tech is as good or better than Tesla then fantastic.
05-04-21, 09:45 AM
#26
Lexus Champion
Wonder if they figured out yet if the guy in the most recent Tesla Autopilot crash a week ago or so was in the driver's seat or if he crawled out of it trying to escape.
05-04-21, 09:49 AM
#27
Lexus Champion
For clarity:
This is a year old but should be about the same now (probably better since autopilot keeps improving).
Not only is Tesla better than other cars on average but autopilot in a Tesla is safer than not using it.
“In the 4th quarter, we registered one accident for every 3.07 million miles driven in which drivers had Autopilot engaged. For those driving without Autopilot but with our active safety features, we registered one accident for every 2.10 million miles driven. For those driving without Autopilot and without our active safety features, we registered one accident for every 1.64 million miles driven. By comparison, NHTSA’s most recent data shows that in the United States there is an automobile crash every 479,000 miles.”
source
source
Not only is Tesla better than other cars on average but autopilot in a Tesla is safer than not using it.
05-04-21, 10:01 AM
#28
Forum Administrator
iTrader: (2)
I don't have the numbers because I didn't conduct the study. I think the stat is disingenuous (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks so). It's a statistic, sure, but it has an inherent bias towards Tesla because, as explained previously, it compares Autopilot-equipped Teslas with all other US vehicles on the road. I don't know how to make my point more clear, so I'll just leave it at that.
Have there been any studies specifically comparing Tesla safety to modern cars with modern safety systems built the same era? That would be a more compelling discussion and proof point.
Last edited by DaveGS4; 05-04-21 at 10:06 AM.
05-04-21, 10:12 AM
#29
Lexus Champion
05-04-21, 10:22 AM
#30
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, that Autopilot makes driving safer if used appropriately. The human being has to be aware and monitor the situation to be used effectively. In many instances, it easily helps with fatigue and general safety. The horror stories we hear about are the outliers that have too much trust in the system and play video games or crawl in the back or sleep during autopilot. Its only a level 2 system and Tesla owners for the most part know this as its constantly nagging you for input in the steering wheel. Try to trick the system and bad things happen...