Reader Response Draft 3

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, lessening the driver’s total workload when used appropriately. Tesla cars made for the North American market provide autopilot features by employing a camera-based Tesla Vision, which comprises eight cameras on the exterior of the car and advanced visual processing. Every brand new Tesla comes with autopilot as standard and owners can purchase upgrade packages which are “Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability''. Full Self-Driving Capability includes the functions and features of Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot, are level 2 on the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)’s scale of autonomous driving, (Wapcar,2023) which is meant to be used with a driver who is fit to drive as they are required to take control of the vehicle at any given time (synopsys, n.d.). Henceforth, all new Tesla cars should come standardised with Tesla’s Self-Driving Capability package as it will reduce the number of accidents on the road. Standardising functions like “Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control" and “Navigate on Autopilot" on all new Tesla cars, makes driving safer compared to conventional driving without any assistance.

Tesla's Self-Driving Capability package includes the feature “Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control”. According to O’Kane (2020), this feature decelerates 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 stays or turns green. According to statistics from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety(IIHS) (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. 

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 and off-ramps, change lanes and interchanges automatically with minimal intervention from the driver. A case study in 2022 shows a video of a Tesla vehicle with autopilot engaged, driving on an expressway. When there was a traffic jam ahead, the Tesla then stopped behind another 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 occupants 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 upon impact.

One concern with Tesla's Self-Driving Capability package is the increase of “overreliance, complacency, hands-free, mind-off, and fatigued driving” which could worsen the driver’s situational awareness (Nordhoff et al, 2023). According to a study by Delft University of Technology on 103 participants, 45% of participants 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 a 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.” With data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, 2023) in 2022, an estimated number of 42,795 fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Autopilot has only been connected to 736 crashes in the US with 17 being fatal since 2019 (Kothari, 2023). This shows that less than 1% of the deaths from motor vehicles in 2022 are from Tesla Autopilot which proves that driving with Autopilot is safer than without.

 

In conclusion, Tesla's Self-Driving Capability package is not a foolproof accident free system as it is only level 2 on the SAE’s scale of autonomous driving which still requires the undivided attention of the driver on the road. Therefore, driving with Tesla’s FSD as a standard will be much safer than driving the conventional way without any assistance.

         References:

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

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/ 

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

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/

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/ 

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. 

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 

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

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

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

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