AutoPilot - note to drivers and Consumer Reports

[sillydriver]

You left out one major benefit of the AP suite of driver assist features: AP reduces road rage. AP makes it easy to maintain a safe steady speed. It discourages aggressive driving behavior. Because of the lack of latency a Tesla is surgical in its precision. This can lead to very aggressive driving. With AP on the driver relaxes more and goes with the flow so to speak.

This is a very good point. There is a psychological aspect in addition to AP's smoothness in maneuvering. Not that I would ever be subject to road rage, but when some idiot cuts off my car while AP is on it feels like they are not disrespecting me: they are merely disrespecting AP. Then all is calm.

 

[msnow]

It is very relaxing and much less stressful.

It is like going in a Cab and you don't tell the driver to keep switching lanes, but let him do the driving. Very similar.

Well not exactly. If I'm in a cab I don't have to pay attention to the traffic or worry about the car bouncing trying to find center, drifting towards trucks in the right lane, drifting left to center dividers, losing track due to faded lane markings or sudden breaking due to false positives (all these things happen to those of us who really do use it in everyday life). I "like" AP because I feel like I'm contributing to its ultimate success but "LOVE" isn't the word I'd use. Also, given that I'm aware of where it can fail I'm always alert and not relaxed and I've been using it since it came out last October.

 

[xkwizit]

The first self-driving car fatality proves nothing | John Naughton

 

[wycolo]

the car bouncing trying to find center, drifting towards trucks in the right lane, drifting left to center dividers, losing track due to faded lane markings or sudden breaking due to false positives [manow]

Just like one-hand steering an old beater, constantly going from 11 to 1 o'clock back and forth to avoid looking like a drunk driver. Time for new tie rod ends and ball joints AND time to turn off AP. But how can AP exit gracefully and safely? It has to know you've woken up and become oriented in all spheres (I can't wait to do a test ride!).

Speaking of one-hand steering, isn't that the best way to rest upper appendages - one at a time?
--

 

[msnow]

the car bouncing trying to find center, drifting towards trucks in the right lane, drifting left to center dividers, losing track due to faded lane markings or sudden breaking due to false positives [manow]

Just like one-hand steering an old beater, constantly going from 11 to 1 o'clock back and forth to avoid looking like a drunk driver. Time for new tie rod ends and ball joints AND time to turn off AP. But how can AP exit gracefully and safely? It has to know you've woken up and become oriented in all spheres (I can't wait to do a test ride!).

Speaking of one-hand steering, isn't that the best way to rest upper appendages - one at a time?
--

I didn't mean to imply that it constantly does this. There are long periods of stability but you have to be alert and aware of AP's current capabilities. It's beta after all.

 

[SR22pilot]

I didn't mean to imply that it constantly does this. There are long periods of stability but you have to be alert and aware of AP's current capabilities. It's beta after all.

Interesting that one person's beta (Tesla's) is better than another person's (MB, Hyundai, Infiniti) finished product.

 

[msnow]

Interesting that one person's beta (Tesla's) is better than another person's (MB, Hyundai, Infiniti) finished product.

I have never driven a MB with AP so I have nothing to compare it to.

 

[hockeythug]

Might need to Musk tweet proof the servers.

 

[S'toon]

Might need to Musk tweet proof the servers.

Yeah, I went to mention that Musk tweeted out this thread, and the board crashed.

 

[omarsultan]

Hey @xkwizit - congrats on the hat tip from Elon

 

[pete8314]

I've been a Model S owner since early 2013, but have only had the change to use Autopilot since getting my new S a month ago. It's everything that the OP says it is. If you choose to place more trust in the system, then that's the risk you have decided to take. It's the same risk you take each time you read or reply to a text message on your phone. Who's driving then? Your knees, most likely, with the occasional glance at the road. But, you're basically on your own, less safe, version of autopilot. I have no doubt that AP, when used correctly, makes me a safer driver.

It's also worth mentioned that the media loves a (non) crisis. Cast you mind back a couple of years when a few Tesla's caught fire (during which time 100's of ICE cars also caught fire). The stock took a hit, the media dragged the Tesla brand through the mud, and ultimately Tesla became stronger, because the facts surfaced, the FUD was silenced (mostly), and just for good measure, we all got a concrete-crushing shield mounted to the bottom of our cars.

Tesla are gathering vast amounts of data every day to evolve the system and make it safer in all scenarios. The unfortunate side of that is that the edge-cases will sometimes involve tragedy. That doesn't mean we are all guinea pigs, but it does show that it's impossible to create every possible scenario in a lab. It's impossible to create it with 130 million miles. Even after a billion, something will be unaccounted for, but it'll be an ever-reducing amount.

Removing Autopilot is simply delaying the inevitable development of a technology that will make the roads safer (statistically, it already is). Certainly, owners should Read The Manual (RTFM), but beyond that, it's on us to make sure we're not using the technology when it's inappropriate to do so.

 

[andrewket]

As another Tesla owner with ~25k miles on his belt using AP, I agree +++1. Nailed it.

 

[Ludus]

Hey @xkwizit - congrats on the hat tip from Elon

Congrats. I can see you put some work into writing that post but you prolly didn't expect it to be read by a few million people.

 

[Noneduck]

You left out one major benefit of the AP suite of driver assist features: AP reduces road rage. AP makes it easy to maintain a safe steady speed. It discourages aggressive driving behavior. Because of the lack of latency a Tesla is surgical in its precision. This can lead to very aggressive driving. With AP on the driver relaxes more and goes with the flow so to speak.

This is true. I even had a coal rolling diesel truck drive up and blow smoke at me. Infuriating, but I was so be-calmed by AP that I was not even tempted to react. AP mindfulness.

 

[Electroman]

Interesting that one person's beta (Tesla's) is better than another person's (MB, Hyundai, Infiniti) finished product.

As funny as this observation is, it is ironic that it is true.

I have never driven a MB with AP so I have nothing to compare it to.

Of course you didn't.

 

[RMartens]

You left out one major benefit of the AP suite of driver assist features: AP reduces road rage. AP makes it easy to maintain a safe steady speed. It discourages aggressive driving behavior. Because of the lack of latency a Tesla is surgical in its precision. This can lead to very aggressive driving. With AP on the driver relaxes more and goes with the flow so to speak.

Exactly what I am hoping for with my M3.(Make me go with the flow and calm down)

 

[Bruin1996]

With the recent allegations by some Tesla drivers on the failure of Autopilot on their cars and the media jumping on those incidents, this is a quick primer for every Tesla driver (including spouses, siblings, sons and daughters) and Laura MacCleery, VP of Consumer Policy and Mobilization for Consumer Reports:


As of writing this note, Tesla's autopilot allows you to maintain lane, change lanes, and park the car. While you should keep your hands on the steering wheel, when driving on a straight road with minimal traffic, you may take off your hands from time to time to relax your arms. However, when encountering curves, construction zones, roads that don't have clear lane markings, busy traffic, inclement weather such as rain or snow, and even direct bright sun, you should keep your hand on the steering wheel and be ready to take control if needed.

Excellent post defending the RESPONSIBLE use of Autopilot which is such a huge benefit to all of us Tesla owners. I am a physician and actually I have had non-Tesla owning colleagues who have actually asked me if I am now afraid of using Autopilot as it is so dangerous. The ignorance about Autopilot even among highly educated, otherwise intelligent people is unbelievable. Meanwhile, every one of my Autopilot-enabled Tesla-owning colleagues loves their Autopilot functionality and would never give it up. And of course congratulations on the HT of your post by Elon Musk himself.

The only comment I want to add is that I think Autopilot is a wonderful thing for the stop-and-go "busy" traffic that I seem to always endure on the freeways here in Southern California. I completely agree with all of the other factors you listed where you need to have extra caution even with Autopilot. It is just so much less stressful to have my Tesla handling the steering and acceleration/braking that is so mind-numbingly painful during stop and go traffic. With my previous car, I would feel so fatigued after a long day at work that sometimes I would have to pull over to rest. No longer a problem with the Autopilot on my Tesla!

 

[theslimshadyist]

One of the best articles to date on this topic.

 

[Skotty]

I disagree with a lot of what some of you are saying. It's not necessarily one way or the other. Autopilot is not necessarily a better driver, and neither are you. AP is not necessarily less stressful, in part because it is not perfect. AP and a cab are both not necessarily less stressful because you are putting your safety in something or someone elses hands, and if you are like me, that's stressful. I don't trust anyone or anything more than me to get me safely to my destination. Nothing stresses me out faster than being a passenger in a vehicle with a driver I don't trust or who in my opinion is driving less safely than I would.

Does any of this suggest that AP should be put on hold? No. Statistically, AP is doing okay. Use it if you want. Don't use it if you don't. And don't worry about others using it. There's really no reason to make a stink about it right now one way or the other. Drive on, assisted or not. We'll see what the statistics say next year and reassess.

 

[NerdDoc]

I'm probably preaching to the (responsible) choir, but every person with a driver error induced accident that falsely blames autopilot hurts the whole Tesla community and the advancement of autonomous transport. The only silver lining is that most of these people get outed when the data is uploaded to Tesla.