Engineering advances have put automated vehicles on an accelerating path toward commercial availability and, eventually, wider use. Automated vehicles' promise for improving fuel efficiency, increasing road safety and relieving traffic congestion has been well documented. But the realization of those benefits rests not only on technological advancement but also on public acceptance. Though certain sectors such as ride-sharing operations could be early adopters of these cars, widespread use will not come until public trust is gained. And while technological failures are a normal part of any development process, high-profile accidents involving vehicles using semi-automated technologies, like three recent ones in which drivers used (or claimed to have used) Tesla's autopilot mode, will set back the timetable for complete public acceptance.
As automated and semi-automated vehicle technologies continue to develop and improve, it is important to keep clear the distinction between the two. Driver-assist features, including automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and active lane assist — many of which are already in use and some of which are due to become available in new vehicle models in the next couple of years — still require driver interaction and attention. The autopilot mode used in Tesla models that was activated in at least two accidents within the past few months is a similar technology. The autopilot's computer-driven detection system sees, interprets and classifies objects, and it then uses that information to guide the car. However, it still requires drivers to stay attentive and be ready to take control. In the case of a fatal collision in Florida, it appears that the computerized system did not differentiate the white trailer of a turning truck from the bright background of a sunny day, and both the driver and system failed to adjust to avoid a collision.
Tesla is not alone in developing and deploying such systems for passenger vehicles. BMW, General Motors Co. and Mercedes-Benz all plan to include hands-free or active lane assist options in future models. In theory, these features should improve the safety of driving. In fact, safety is one of the highest priorities and selling points of the technologies. Tesla's autopilot feature was tested over 130 million driving miles before the high-profile crash occurred, compared with the 94 million miles that are driven between fatal accidents in vehicles guided only by people (though admittedly, traditional systems are driven over a much wider array of conditions). But as long as the Tesla system and others like it remain semi-autonomous, another factor will remain constant: the human one.
