This might sound like a good idea in principle — in effect, don’t allow people to use the system unless they are more attentive then even most drivers are normally.
The problem is the natural outcome is that people will then simply just stop using the system, and end up less safe because of it, causing more accidents and possibly costing lives.
In the interest of public health, the system has to be better than the average driver, and also not annoyingly unusable.
So there is a balancing act. Tesla will already disable AP if you keep your hands off the wheel for too long. It even locks you out for the rest of the drive as a “penalty box” so you can’t just turn it back on.
As I drive down the highway on AP, the number of cars drifting in their lanes, crossing the lines, changing lanes without signaling, not maintaining proper speed, driving aggressively, driving for an exit at the last minute, panic breaking, etc. is actually somewhat mind blowing. It’s amazing there aren’t more accidents.
Versus the Model 3 which maintains speed and centers in its lane more precisely than I even do manually, for mile after mile.
What’s also remarkable is the constant progression of new features, better feature detection, more complex navigation and route planning which has happened over just the last 12 months. Tesla AP now in 2019 is significantly improved from what it looked like even July 2018, and v10 will just continue the progression.
Tesla safety stats are hard to compare to the general public, but what I can say definitely is a Tesla on AP on the highway is way more consistent and predictable of a driver than any human. It’s better to be in the Tesla in AP on the highway, but I imagine it’s also better to be driving behind or beside the Tesla in that same situation because it’s not driving distracted like almost everyone else on the road.
The problem is the natural outcome is that people will then simply just stop using the system, and end up less safe because of it, causing more accidents and possibly costing lives.
In the interest of public health, the system has to be better than the average driver, and also not annoyingly unusable.
So there is a balancing act. Tesla will already disable AP if you keep your hands off the wheel for too long. It even locks you out for the rest of the drive as a “penalty box” so you can’t just turn it back on.
As I drive down the highway on AP, the number of cars drifting in their lanes, crossing the lines, changing lanes without signaling, not maintaining proper speed, driving aggressively, driving for an exit at the last minute, panic breaking, etc. is actually somewhat mind blowing. It’s amazing there aren’t more accidents.
Versus the Model 3 which maintains speed and centers in its lane more precisely than I even do manually, for mile after mile.
What’s also remarkable is the constant progression of new features, better feature detection, more complex navigation and route planning which has happened over just the last 12 months. Tesla AP now in 2019 is significantly improved from what it looked like even July 2018, and v10 will just continue the progression.
Tesla safety stats are hard to compare to the general public, but what I can say definitely is a Tesla on AP on the highway is way more consistent and predictable of a driver than any human. It’s better to be in the Tesla in AP on the highway, but I imagine it’s also better to be driving behind or beside the Tesla in that same situation because it’s not driving distracted like almost everyone else on the road.