Recently, we discovered that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was asking a dozen automakers for information regarding any crashes in which advanced driver aids were on 30 seconds before impact.
Seen by most as the thin edge of the wedge that will introduce the world to automakers’ new favorite toy, autonomous driving, the request reveals something about the state of advanced driver aids and autonomous research in general.
Precipitated by NHTSA’s investigation into Tesla and its so-called “Autopilot” system, the request suggests that there’s a lot to learn about the rollout of driver assistance features and their impact on the road. While detractors will no doubt point to the current lack of information as evidence that we’re rushing into autonomous driving without knowing how safe it is, boosters doubtless point to the accidents as outliers.
The fact that only a dozen or so Tesla accidents are being traced to the advanced driver aids may be proof of how effective they are when compared to the thousands of Teslas on the road today.
Read Also: NHTSA Asks 12 Automakers For Help In Tesla Autopilot Investigation
While we’ll keep a close eye on the progress of NHTSA’s investigation, we’re curious what impact all of the attention on these level 2 and 2+ autonomous systems, to use the SAE’s parlance, are having on your willingness to be driven by an autonomous vehicle today and in the future.
Long the dream of sci-fi and seen by many as a safer way forward, has the reality of autonomous research so far filled you with enough confidence to trust the industry? Would you get into an autonomous vehicle today? Several brands are hoping you will, though they mostly keep a human in the driver’s seat to take over in case something goes wrong. Would you be comfortable if the driver weren’t there?
Has the progress of technology so far convinced you that there will be a point in the near future in which autonomous vehicles are good enough that you would get into a car with no controls for any human to operate? Let us know in the comments.