Odd, isn't it, that while many seem inherently fearful of self-driving cars before they experience them, the existential question once drivers experience autonomy, is how do you convince the same drivers that four-out-of-five-times-reliability is not good enough to turn over their lives to their autopilots...
http://www.autonews.com/article/2016070 ... esla-crashNTSB to scrutinize driver automation with probe of Tesla crash
WASHINGTON -- For years, U.S. investigators have been calling for more automation on motor vehicles, such as sensors that slam on the brakes to prevent a crash.
At the same time, the National Transportation Safety Board, in its probes of transportation mishaps, has warned that such devices may also have a down side: the technology can confuse operators if it's poorly designed or lead to complacency that breeds its own hazards.
Now, for the first time in a highway accident, those two potentially contradictory themes will be put to the test as the NTSB opens an investigation into a fatal accident involving a Tesla Motors Inc. sedan that was driving with a feature called Autopilot enabled...
http://www.autonews.com/article/2016070 ... autonomousFirst real-world look at how drivers interact with autonomous technology
...NHTSA's inquiry is likely to focus on the ability of Autopilot's cameras and sensors to detect and react to road hazards. Even if the system performed as it was designed to, experts say, the agency could find that it poses an unreasonable safety risk as deployed.
Tesla rolled out its Autopilot system in October through software update, with key features still in the beta, or late testing, stage...
Tesla warned: "The driver is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the car."
The extent to which drivers heed that warning is unclear. Missy Cummings, an engineering professor and human-factors expert at Duke University, says humans tend to show "automation bias," a trust that automated systems can handle all situations when they work 80 percent of the time.
The Model S crash that killed driver Joshua Brown, a former Navy SEAL and Tesla fan, was "not an isolated incident," Cummings said, citing examples of other reported crashes involving Tesla cars that had Autopilot functions activated...
