Reader Response Draft 2

Tesla’s article “Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability” (2023) states that advanced driver assistance systems like Autopilot improve the comfort and safety of the driver while driving, and lessens the driver’s total workload when used appropriately. According to the same website, there are eight cameras on the outside of the car and advanced visual processing to give an extra measure of security. Instead of using the radar system, Tesla cars made for the North American market employ a camera-based Tesla Vision to provide autopilot features. Every brand new Tesla comes with a basic model of autopilot as standard. Depending on when the car was manufactured, owners of older Tesla vehicles can purchase an upgrade package for vehicles built without the Autopilot system such as “Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability”. Full Self-Driving Capability includes the functions and features of Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot and are level 2 on Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)’s scale of autonomous driving (wapcar,2023) and is meant to be used with a driver who is fit to drive as they are needed to take over at any given time (synopsys, n.d.). Henceforth, all new Tesla cars should come standardised with Tesla’s Self-Driving Capability package, as functions like Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control and Navigate on Autopilot will reduce the number of accidents on the road, making driving safer compared to conventional driving without any assistance.

Support #1: 

Tesla's Self-Driving Capability package includes the feature Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control. According to O’Kane (2020), this feature will decelerate the vehicle until it comes to a halt when approaching stop signs and traffic lights regardless whether the light is green or not. The driver will then have to initiate the car to continue moving once the traffic light turns green. If the light is green, the vehicle will not cross traffic lights and stop signs without the driver’s input. According to statistics from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (2023), “In 2021, 1,109 people were killed” and “an estimated 127,000 people were injured in red light running”. According to a video (Frenchie, 2021 as cited by Alvarez, 2021), a Tesla with FSD engaged, moved off from the junction after the lights turned green. The driver was oblivious that a cyclist dashed the red light and FSD braked the car automatically, preventing the accident. With the car being able to stop by itself in front of red lights and stop signs, this will reduce the number of people beating the red light and causing accidents which is prevalent in conventional driving. 

Support #2: 

On top of that, Tesla's Self-Driving Capability package has Navigate on Autopilot. According to an article “Tesla Autopilot” (2023), this function allows the vehicle to merge onto on-ramps and off-ramps, change lanes and interchanges automatically with minimal intervention from the driver. In a case study in 2022, The video showed a Tesla model 3 driving on an expressway when there was a traffic jam ahead and subsequently stopped behind a stationary vehicle. However, the 2nd oncoming vehicle behind the Tesla was unable to stop in time and crashed into the vehicle behind the Tesla, which then inevitably crashed into the Tesla. After the impact, Autopilot swerved the vehicle to the right lane instead of crashing into the vehicle in front, preventing a further pileup. The article also states that Autopilot warned the driver of the imminent accident before it happened. (Wham Baam Teslacam, 2022 as cited by Loveday, 2022). Without the intervention of autopilot, the tesla would have crashed into the vehicle in front, causing a longer chain, as shown in the vehicle behind the Tesla which was being driven conventionally and did not swerve out of the way after impact.

Support #3 and counterargument: 

One problem with Tesla's Self-Driving Capability package is the increasing number of instances of “overreliance, complacency, hands-free, mind-off, and fatigued driving,” which might worsen the drivers situational awareness (Velasco et al, 2023). This was evident when a study conducted by Delft University of Technology on 103 participants, shows that a whopping 45% of people felt that Autopilot has made them complacent in driving and 21% felt an overreliance on Autopilot. However 46% stated that Autopilot has improved their situational awareness, 71% stated Autopilot has reduced driving workload and 32% has reduced driving stress (Nordhoff et al, 2023). This is further supported by the article by Bleakley (2023), “Tesla vehicles with Autopilot engaged had just 0.18 accidents per million miles driven, compared to the US vehicle average of 1.53 accidents per million miles.” Further backed by data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)(2023) in 2022, an estimated number of 42,795 people passed on in motor vehicle traffic crashes, while since 2019, Tesla Autopilot has been connected to 736 crashes in the US with 17 being fatal (Kothari, 2023). This shows that less than 1% of the total deaths in 2022 are from Tesla Autopilot which shows that driving with Autopilot is safer than without.

 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, while Tesla's Self-Driving Capability package is by no means a foolproof accident free system. It is only on the level 2 of level 2 on SAE’s scale of autonomous driving and still requires the undivided attention of the driver on the road. However, driving with FSD is still much safer than driving without. Thus, all new Tesla vehicles should come with FSD as standard.

References:

Power Source:
Tesla. (2023). Autopilot and full self-driving capability: Tesla Support. https://www.tesla.com/support/autopilot 

Shaun. (2023, September 12). Tesla’s Autopilot vs Enhanced Autopilot vs FSD - What’s the difference and how should you choose?: WapCar. WapCar News.
https://www.wapcar.my/news/teslas-autopilot-vs-enhanced-autopilot-vs-fsd--whats-the-difference-and-how-should-you-choose-73338

synopsys. (n.d.). The 6 levels of vehicle autonomy explained. Synopsys Automotive. https://www.synopsys.com/automotive/autonomous-driving-levels.html

O’Kane, S. (2020, April 27). Teslas can now see and slow for traffic lights and stop signs. The Verge.  https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/27/21238637/tesla-cars-traffic-light-stop-sign-control-feature-self-driving

iihs.org. (2023, June). Red Light Running. IIHS. https://www.iihs.org/topics/red-light-running 

Alvarez, S. (2021, October 24). Tesla FSD beta is starting to save lives. TESLARATI. https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-fsd-beta-saves-lives/ 

The Economic Times. (2023, July 8). Tesla Autopilot: What is it and how does it work? here’s everything you may want to know. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/tesla-autopilot-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work-heres-everything-you-may-want-to-know/articleshow/101601035.cms?from=mdr 

Loveday, S. (2022, March 6). Tesla autopilot detects crash and steers around car to reduce damage. InsideEVs. https://insideevs.com/news/571564/tesla-autopilot-detects-crash/ 

Velasco, E., Paull, H., McFadden, J., Alegre, J., & Lutz, J. (2023, March 22). Study on Tesla users reveal autopilot, FSD beta encourage driver misuse. the deep dive. https://thedeepdive.ca/study-on-tesla-users-reveal-autopilot-fsd-beta-encourage-driver-misuse/ 

Nordhoff, S., Lee, J. D., Calvert, S. C., Berge, S., Hagenzieker, M., & Happee, R. (2023, January 11). (mis-)use of standard autopilot and full self-driving (FSD) beta: Results from interviews with users of Tesla’s FSD beta. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1101520/full 

Bleakley, D. (2023, April 27). Accident rate for Tesla 80% lower than US average with FSD. The Driven. https://thedriven.io/2023/04/27/accident-rate-for-tesla-80-lower-than-us-average-with-fsd/ 

NHTSA. (2023, April 20). NHTSA estimates for 2022 show roadway fatalities remain flat after two years of dramatic increases. https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/traffic-crash-death-estimates-2022#:~:text=The%20National%20Highway%20Traffic%20Safety,42%2C939%20fatalities%20reported%20for%202021. 

Kothari, S. (2023, June 13). Dark side of tesla autopilot: NHTSA Data reveals 736 crashes, 17 deaths. InsideEVs. https://insideevs.com/news/671861/tesla-autopilot-736-crashes-17-deaths-nhtsa/