U.S. opens probe into Tesla’s Autopilot over emergency vehicle crashes

Post by ajross » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 10:26 PM UTC

vkou wrote: post #398

ajross wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fact that they have given anyone an impression otherwise is problematic. Good grief. This meme will not die. The car literally tells you to keep your hands on the wheel every time you engage autopilot, yells at you if you don't, will lock you out of the system as punishment if you don't comply, and if you really seem disabled will bring the car to a stop and turn the hazards on. It simply will not operate witho…

> There are exactly zero Tesla drivers in the world who don't know these rules. Just stop with the nonsense. Please. Tesla's marketing also knows that there are exactly zero drivers in the world who follow those rules, but that doesn't stop them from overselling the capabilities of what they ship.

Post by willcipriano » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 10:29 PM UTC

oaw-bct-ar-bamf wrote: post #389

icelandicmoss wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like part of the problem with the kind of autopilot crashes you describe here is how inexplicable they are to humans. Whilst humans can be dangerous drivers, the incidents they cause generally have a narrative sequence of events that are comprehensible to us -- for instance, driver was distracted, or visibility was poor. But when a supposedly 'all-seeing always watching' autopilot drives straight into a large…

In my opinion the underlying assumption autopilots are built with are wrong. It is assumed that the road is free to drive on. Only when the vehicle computer detects a known object on the road that it knows should not be there it is applying brakes or trying to steer around. I would feel safer if the algorithm would assume the negative case as default and only give the „green light“ once it determined that the road is…

Post by asdff » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 10:31 PM UTC

Animats wrote: post #302

Right. As I've pointed out previously, Tesla seems to be unable to detect sizable stationary obstacles that are partly blocking a lane, especially if they don't look like the rear end of a car. In addition to emergency vehicles, Teslas on autopilot have plowed into freeway barriers and a street sweeper. That's the usual situation for first responders, who usually try to block as little of the road as possible but oft…

Post by sunshineforever » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 10:32 PM UTC

bit_logic wrote: post #385

Animats wrote: post #302

Right. As I've pointed out previously, Tesla seems to be unable to detect sizable stationary obstacles that are partly blocking a lane, especially if they don't look like the rear end of a car. In addition to emergency vehicles, Teslas on autopilot have plowed into freeway barriers and a street sweeper. That's the usual situation for first responders, who usually try to block as little of the road as possible but oft…

I think we need to add a new level 2 assisted driving skills section to driving tests. Level 2 can be safer but it really requires understanding how level 2 works and limitations. For example, when I use level 2 (mine is Honda but applies to other level 2 as well since they mostly share the same vendor), these are the rules I follow: - Car switching in/out of my lane, I manually take over - Tight curve in the freeway…

Post by sunshineforever » Mon, Aug 16, 2021, 10:33 PM UTC

mmcconnell1618 wrote: post #394

bit_logic wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we need to add a new level 2 assisted driving skills section to driving tests. Level 2 can be safer but it really requires understanding how level 2 works and limitations. For example, when I use level 2 (mine is Honda but applies to other level 2 as well since they mostly share the same vendor), these are the rules I follow: - Car switching in/out of my lane, I manually take over - Tight curve in the freeway…

I wonder if some sort of standard display showing what the vehicle "sees" and is predicted to do will be regulated. For example, if the display shows the vehicle doesn't understand a firetruck parked half way in the lane or the tight curve on the freeway, at least the driver can validate on the display and have some time to react.