[staktrace]

Your experience is not universal. In my case the combination of me+software is certainly safer than me alone, and also less taxing for me.

[rootusrootus]

It comes down to your driving style. Defensive drivers will not like how AP drives, and it makes driving much more tiring, not less. If you are comfortable with the way AP drives, though, I could see it being relaxing. Hell, some people sleep when AP is cruising down the highway, so clearly there is a spectrum.

[frumper]

AP somehow doesn't brake soon enough for my comfort when approaching slower cars and it doesn't accelerate quick enough when traffic speeds back up.

[mathieubordere]

Can you explain how you come to the conclusion that it is safer?

[staktrace]

There's been a number of occasions where I would have been in an accident had it not been for the software saving me. Obviously it is possible that one day the software will result in an accident that would not have happened had I been driving alone, but thus far that has not happened, and so, thus far, I can conclude that the combination is better than me alone.

[gugagore]

One person cannot drive enough miles in their lifetime to allow making a determination that one system is definitely safer than the other. The reliability that we require from an autonomous system means you might never experience a safety failure (again, even if you drive every minute of the rest of your life), but the system is still less safe.

[kbos87]

True, but manufacturers can look at aggregate miles traveled and come to some conclusions about the safety of vehicles without any safety systems, with active safety systems like automatic emergency braking, and in Tesla’s case, Autopilot. They publish the statistics regularly and crashes are far less common per million miles driven when autopilot is engaged.

[andi999]

Exactly. I mean how many accident do you expect to participate in your lifetime? Like probably 2-3 (scratched bumber) and 0 severe ones.

[misiti3780]

I agree, and I think most Tesla owners feel this way, given that the AP outrage seems to manifest itself exclusively on hacker news.