NHTSA Chief: Autonomous Cars Don't Have to Be "Perfect"
Agency won't slow efforts to further autonomous car development
Tesla has recently come under fire for remaining committed to Autopilot despite a fatal crash of a Model S using the semi-autonomous technology. And although it's investigating the Model S incident, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stands by the importance of autonomous cars.
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"No one incident will derail the Department of Transportation and NHTSA from its mission to improve safety on the roads by pursuing new lifesaving technologies," said NHTSA chief Mark Rosekind at a recent conference.
Federal regulators are now writing guidelines to advise others on the safe deployment of automated vehicles. Those rules should come out by late summer, NHTSA says. Rosekind admits autonomous vehicles must be "much safer" than human drivers to make sense, but they needn't be perfect. About 94 percent of car crashes are caused by human error, and NHTSA says autonomous technologies could help reduce the prevalence of those accidents.
"If we wait for perfect, we'll be waiting for a very, very long time," he said. "How many lives might we be losing while we wait?" Rosekind noted self-driving cars will make mistakes and will learn from those mistakes as more data is gathered. Human drivers, however, continue to make the same mistakes others have made.
Consumer Reportshas called on Tesla to dial back some features of its Autopilot system, although Tesla disagrees. Tesla notes its Autopilot system is still in Beta, and says it will continue to educate consumers on how to use the technology.
Source: Reuters
When I tell people I write about cars, the most common reply I receive is “Really?” I guess I never strike people as a car type as I drive down the freeway in the right lane going 60 mph in my old SUV. My gripes about driving in city traffic and fast drivers don’t help my case, either. For a time, the only cars I liked were old cars. Not old as in "classic" or "vintage," but as in well-worn. My first appreciation of cars came when I drove a very old Ford pickup. It wasn't perfect: I used a booster seat to reach the gas pedal, and the turn signal once fell off in my hand as I was learning to drive. But the thing I valued most was the memories. It took several years for me to truly become a "car person." Being a long-time writer and an avid reader has helped me develop a healthy curiosity and a desire to know how things work. This has made cars one of the most fascinating points of study for me because they are such intricate machines. I am interested in how cars can reach 200 mph, how they can run on hydrogen, and how they can drive and park on their own. I also enjoy learning how cars can solve problems whether it be in the form of reducing pollution, minimizing traffic, or helping people stay connected on the road. Yes, maybe I’m not a gearhead. Perhaps I’m a car nerd. Either way, I very much enjoy writing about cars and helping people stay in tune with the automotive industry. I wouldn't want to be writing about anything else. And don’t get me wrong: I know how to drool over a hot car. I am fascinated by the Tesla Model S, awed by the Lamborghini Veneno, and am hopelessly obsessed with the Audi R8.
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