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>In fact, most accidents are caused by people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or falling asleep, or being on their phones. Which can't ever ha

>In fact, most accidents are caused by people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or falling asleep, or being on their phones. Which can't ever happen with AI driving. That's a huge sales pitch to consumers in itself without even having to wait for the data. >Meanwhile the Tacoma is just a slight update and restyling of mature technology. Wrong! >A: What is carried over from the previous Tacoma in this new truck? >S: Not much. Maybe a seatbelt bracket! The base frame has been modified. The base frame rail design is similar but it’s not carryover. The body shell and body structure are new. For the structure, we use hot-stamped steel. http://www.automobilemag.com/news/q-a-with-2016-toyota-tacoma-chief-engineer-mike-sweers/ http://www.automobilemag.com/news/q-a-with-2016-toyota-tacom... If that's a slight update new models of autonomous cars can also be slight updates. Average consumers aren't sitting around arguing statistics either. They will be marketed as safer. It's plain to see how autonomous cars will be safer in many respects already (Drunk driving or distracted driving for example). The convenience factor is by far the biggest selling point though. Sleep/work/read on your commute! Rent your car out as an autonomous taxi to earn more cash!

semi-extrinsic 10y ago
Sure, incremental changes have been made to the new Tacoma, and you can argue "nothing has been carried over". But there is nothing revolutionary, on the same scale as a car not even having a steering wheel. Because that's what you're talking about, steering wheel-less autonomous cars. It surely isn't plain to see that they will be safer. We've already seen the first fatality on Autopilot. And I, for one, don't think these will be in the hands of consumers for at least another decade or two. Simply because of costs and liability.
- gnarbarian 10y ago
  never dismiss the power of spin: >Tesla says Autopilot has been used for more than 130 million miles, noting that, on average, a fatality occurs every 94 million miles in the US and every 60 million miles worldwide. The NHTSA investigation, Tesla says, is a "preliminary evaluation" to determine if the Autopilot system was working properly, which can be a precursor to a safety action like a recall. so according to this, autopilot is already safer than the "average" driver. http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/30/12072408/tesla-autopilot-car-crash-death-autonomous-model-s http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/30/12072408/tesla-autopilot-c...
  - gamblor956 10y ago
    Given that there have been at least 3 Autopilot-related fatalities this summer over approximately 130 million miles driven worldwide, that is an average of roughly one fatality per 43 million miles, or significantly less safe than even the worldwide average.
  - akiselev 10y ago
    130 million miles is not a statistically significant enough distance to make claims about safety if the national average is one fatality per 94 million miles. With so little data on autopilot compared to other vehicles (a few fatalities vs thousands), this could just be natural randomness or a small effect caused by drivers being more cautious of autopilot.

semi-extrinsic 10y ago

Sure, incremental changes have been made to the new Tacoma, and you can argue "nothing has been carried over". But there is nothing revolutionary, on the same scale as a car not even having a steering wheel. Because that's what you're talking about, steering wheel-less autonomous cars. It surely isn't plain to see that they will be safer. We've already seen the first fatality on Autopilot. And I, for one, don't think these will be in the hands of consumers for at least another decade or two. Simply because of costs and liability.

gnarbarian 10y ago
never dismiss the power of spin: >Tesla says Autopilot has been used for more than 130 million miles, noting that, on average, a fatality occurs every 94 million miles in the US and every 60 million miles worldwide. The NHTSA investigation, Tesla says, is a "preliminary evaluation" to determine if the Autopilot system was working properly, which can be a precursor to a safety action like a recall. so according to this, autopilot is already safer than the "average" driver. http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/30/12072408/tesla-autopilot-car-crash-death-autonomous-model-s http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/30/12072408/tesla-autopilot-c...
- gamblor956 10y ago
  Given that there have been at least 3 Autopilot-related fatalities this summer over approximately 130 million miles driven worldwide, that is an average of roughly one fatality per 43 million miles, or significantly less safe than even the worldwide average.
- akiselev 10y ago
  130 million miles is not a statistically significant enough distance to make claims about safety if the national average is one fatality per 94 million miles. With so little data on autopilot compared to other vehicles (a few fatalities vs thousands), this could just be natural randomness or a small effect caused by drivers being more cautious of autopilot.