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> Tesla's system demands more from drivers than manual driving. This is a great point. With regular cars, drivers can reliably predict where the car will be af

> Tesla's system demands more from drivers than manual driving. This is a great point. With regular cars, drivers can reliably predict where the car will be after 5 seconds. However, with Tesla, there is really no way to know what the auto-driver will do, and so the driver has to stay even more attentive to ensure that it does not do something wrong. It's like driving a car that is not under your control, and may go in random directions.

paulryanrogers 9y ago
There seems to be a valley between the way the user expects something works and how it actually does. When users detect a difference they may compensate, if they survive long enough to learn. Of course if users get to used to such differences then those can become 'features' which only makes progress harder.
- Double_a_92 9y ago
  The problem is that you don't know what the car is going to do. E.g. if you see a barrier you would mentally prepare to steer. But if you trust the car you don't prepare and then suddenly have to take over at the last moment when you realize the car is doing something wrong. That means the autopilot doesn't help at all since you would have to basically drive manually all the time anyway.
  - jackvalentine 9y ago
    Exactly - the only safe way to drive using autopilot assist is to keep your hands on the wheel and mime steering every corner... and at that point how is it assistance?
  - paulryanrogers 9y ago
    In this case I'd agree that the cons outweigh the pros. Surprising Tesla can legally market the feature or even offer it to the general public in its current form. EDIT: typo
  - Double_a_92 9y ago
    Maybe one solution would be to actually show you what the car is "thinking". E.g. it could project the outlines of what it's seeing and what it's planning to do on the windshield.
    - russjr08 9y ago
      Aren't there regulations/requirements about what's allowed on the windshield? I would think it'd be seen as a "distraction", those suction cup mounts for example are illegal in a lot of states.
product50 9y ago
No - this is not a fair comparison. Tesla, without the autodrive feature, functions like a regular car. It is upto you if you want to turn on the autodrive or not.
- m4x 9y ago
  We are discussing the use of Autopilot, so it is a fair comparison. Nobody is worried about the safety of a Tesla with autopilot off.
  - product50 9y ago
    Well if you are worried about safety with autopilot on don't turn it on. To expect a system to function 100% from day 1 or even on day 1000 is unreal. Look at aeroplanes - they used to be notorious with their safety records in the 50s and 60s. However, with each crash, problems were identified and improvements were made. This is what led to the current world where aeroplanes are one of the safest mode of traveling.
    - eh78ssxv2f 9y ago
      Sorry, comparison with airplanes is not fair in my opinion. The purpose of the autopilot is to increase safety for drivers that are not attentive. However, it turns out that Tesla requires drivers to be even more attentive than regular vehicles. This is not a sign of progression.
      - product50 9y ago
        Not true in my opinion. While for now the positioning of autopilot is to increase safety for non attentive drivers, eventually autopilot's main goal is to have completely self driven cars and that is where the industry is heading (and Tesla wants to be in the forefronts of it). We can differ in opinions but I strongly feel that the eventual utopia of self driving cars will be much safer than the current world. And we are making progress on this daily. There will be few unfortunate incidents but in the long term a lot more lives will be saved.

paulryanrogers 9y ago

There seems to be a valley between the way the user expects something works and how it actually does. When users detect a difference they may compensate, if they survive long enough to learn. Of course if users get to used to such differences then those can become 'features' which only makes progress harder.

Double_a_92 9y ago
The problem is that you don't know what the car is going to do. E.g. if you see a barrier you would mentally prepare to steer. But if you trust the car you don't prepare and then suddenly have to take over at the last moment when you realize the car is doing something wrong. That means the autopilot doesn't help at all since you would have to basically drive manually all the time anyway.
- jackvalentine 9y ago
  Exactly - the only safe way to drive using autopilot assist is to keep your hands on the wheel and mime steering every corner... and at that point how is it assistance?
- paulryanrogers 9y ago
  In this case I'd agree that the cons outweigh the pros. Surprising Tesla can legally market the feature or even offer it to the general public in its current form. EDIT: typo
- Double_a_92 9y ago
  Maybe one solution would be to actually show you what the car is "thinking". E.g. it could project the outlines of what it's seeing and what it's planning to do on the windshield.
  - russjr08 9y ago
    Aren't there regulations/requirements about what's allowed on the windshield? I would think it'd be seen as a "distraction", those suction cup mounts for example are illegal in a lot of states.

product50 9y ago

No - this is not a fair comparison. Tesla, without the autodrive feature, functions like a regular car. It is upto you if you want to turn on the autodrive or not.

m4x 9y ago
We are discussing the use of Autopilot, so it is a fair comparison. Nobody is worried about the safety of a Tesla with autopilot off.
- product50 9y ago
  Well if you are worried about safety with autopilot on don't turn it on. To expect a system to function 100% from day 1 or even on day 1000 is unreal. Look at aeroplanes - they used to be notorious with their safety records in the 50s and 60s. However, with each crash, problems were identified and improvements were made. This is what led to the current world where aeroplanes are one of the safest mode of traveling.
  - eh78ssxv2f 9y ago
    Sorry, comparison with airplanes is not fair in my opinion. The purpose of the autopilot is to increase safety for drivers that are not attentive. However, it turns out that Tesla requires drivers to be even more attentive than regular vehicles. This is not a sign of progression.
    - product50 9y ago
      Not true in my opinion. While for now the positioning of autopilot is to increase safety for non attentive drivers, eventually autopilot's main goal is to have completely self driven cars and that is where the industry is heading (and Tesla wants to be in the forefronts of it). We can differ in opinions but I strongly feel that the eventual utopia of self driving cars will be much safer than the current world. And we are making progress on this daily. There will be few unfortunate incidents but in the long term a lot more lives will be saved.