Do Automated Safety Aids Make Drivers Complacent? The NTSB Wants to Know

by Steph Willems

Published: July 10th, 2016

do automated safety aids make drivers complacent the ntsb wants to know

The National Transportation Safety Board plans to investigate the fatal May 7 Tesla crash to see if the trend of increased automation in driving functions has a dark side, Bloomberg reports.

Already, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into the incident and the role the vehicle’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system played in the crash, but the NTSB has a broader scope in mind. As vehicles increasingly rely on electronic aids for safety, drivers could be letting down their guard.

Tesla admits that the Autopilot system in Joshua Brown’s Model S failed to recognize the transport truck crossing the Florida highway in front of him due to bright sunlight reflecting off of the trailer. After this incident and a July 1 rollover crash of a Model X driving in Autopilot mode, safety and consumer advocates are livid over the company’s beta testing of a potentially unsafe technology.

Autopilot can be fooled, but what isn’t clear is why Brown himself didn’t try to avoid the large obstacle that appeared directly in front of him on a dry, sunny day.

The driver of the truck said he heard, but didn’t see, the movie Harry Potter playing in the wreckage of the Model S. However, a responding Florida Highway Patrol officer claims neither the laptop nor the portable DVD player found in the vehicle were running after the crash. Sergeant Kim Montes told Reuters that investigators can’t say whether Brown was operating either device at the time of the collision.

For the NTSB investigators arriving in Florida this week, looking into the cause of the Tesla crash won’t be the only part of their job. The team — and agency — wants to know of if there are any systemic issues with autonomous technology that could compromise public safety. If any issues are found, the NTSB could seek to change policies surrounding the technology.

“It’s worth taking a look and seeing what we can learn from that event, so that as that automation is more widely introduced we can do it in the safest way possible,” NTSB spokesperson Christopher O’Neil told Bloomberg.

[Image: Volvo Cars]

#AccidentInvestigation #Autopilot #Crash #DistractedDriving #NHTSA #NTSB #Tesla #TeslaModelS

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Kyree on Jul 11, 2016

Considering that Sally Ruth is perfectly content to do her make-up behind the wheel of her '95 Thunderbird that has no driving aids at all, I'd think that plenty of drivers are already "complacent." Yes, people should pay attention to the road instead of their personal appearances or cell phones, but it seems to me like these driver aids help mitigate what is a foregone conclusion...that people already drive recklessly.

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- Vulpine on Jul 11, 2016
  
  Thumbs up, Kyree. You are SO right there.
  
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- TrailerTrash on Jul 11, 2016
  
  Kyree I don't know how to see my wife's driving skill, but it all seems to fit in these discussions on TTAC these weeks. I pass her on the road driving in the opposite direction many times. I see her coming and try to wave at her. She drives past, eyes coldly and studiously looking forward. I ask her about this and she says she just doesn't see me. How? So this whole discussion of complacency or distraction is really about driving skill. It is really about different levels of folks abilities to drive. With or without aids. Theresa IS concentrating. Hard. She simply cannot focus on anything that isn't directly in front of her. And so good luck for her seeing a deer in the ditch early and avoiding. She is just going to rely on her reacting to it once it appears in front...unless the driver assist tech of the modern era is allowed to be used. This is always, to me, going to come down to society dumbing down rules and laws to the lowest common denominator. We will only be allowed to do what the poorest drives can do. If they cannot change channels on their radio...out go the radios. If they cannot drink a soda...out goes the driving while drinking. Life is anything but fair and equal. And driving skill is as unequally distributed.
  
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- Kyree on Jul 11, 2016
  
  @TrailerTrash Well, yes. That's why you have decals all over your lawnmower telling you not to stick your fingers under the lawnmower...because someone actually did that, and lost a finger, and sued, and probably won. You know, even though it's common sense to 99.99999% of people. But I think we've come to the same conclusion through two different types of drivers. You're talking about your wife and her diminished senses, which are understandable. And, indeed, most people can't react quickly enough to a deer jumping out in the middle of the road. That's where autonomous technology and driving aids can really save a person's bacon...er, venison. Meanwhile, I'm talking about people who actively engage in dangerous driving by texting behind the wheel and such. My line of thinking is that since those people are going to do that whether or not they have driver-aids, why not give them the driver-aids? At least the aids will save them, since they were going to do it anyway. It's not the technology that makes them feel complacent enough to drive dangerously. Kevin in the next lane has already decided that he can drive just fine while his girlfriend, ahem, "services" him...and that's whether he's driving a new 7-Series with every radar and aid known to man...or a 1983 Ram that barely has a working alternator. Either way, the tech doesn't hurt.
  
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- TrailerTrash on Jul 11, 2016
  
  @Kyree Ya...I wasn't really disagreeing with you. I think you are correct. I was also trying to vote in fav of any aids that help. There simply is no argument that as tech advances, it must be put into our cars. Theresa, by the way, is not have diminished senses...she just is not a skilled driver. Never has been. She, like so many, just are doing the best they can. Peripheral vision is not a given to all, but it is a premium in life. As is anticipation and awareness. So, like you, I say bring it ll on. But do not call it autopilot. That is simply misleading and wrong. I still say it is a marketing ploy by Tesla...and they know it.
  
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415s30 on Jul 17, 2016

You give people anything and they get lazy. Wall E is on it's way.

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