Tesla’s Security Rating system could also be designed to encourage drivers to function their automobiles in a really cautious method, however in line with Client Stories, the newly-introduced metric might truly make the roads much less secure. Whereas the gamification of secure driving habits might work, the journal argued that Tesla’s Security Scores might additionally incentivize drivers to cheat the system to achieve a excessive ranking.
Kelly Funkhouser, head of automated and linked automobile testing at Consumer Reports, famous that when she and her crew examined the Security Rating system on their Tesla Mannequin Y, they consistently ended up exceeding the metric’s “Arduous Braking” metric. Avoiding such laborious braking situations resulted in Client Stories’ testers coasting via an intersection or failing to come back to a whole cease for a pedestrian.
“The issue is that Tesla seems to be utilizing among the unsuitable metrics. With out extra context, the information Tesla is accumulating, and scoring might create unhealthy incentives,” Funkhouser mentioned.
Jake Fisher, senior director of Client Stories’ auto take a look at middle, added that the gamification of the Security System might deliver some optimistic advantages, and it might inspire drivers to adopt good driving habits. Fisher, nonetheless, famous that gamification additionally has a “darkish facet,” which was noticed by researchers at Ohio State College. When academics on the college added gamification to the classroom, the scholars ended up being extra more likely to cheat to win rewards.
The identical might occur to Tesla’s Safety Score, in line with the CR auto take a look at middle director. With the Security Rating system the best way it’s right this moment, drivers might merely find yourself being inspired to seek out other ways to get a excessive ranking. “Drivers need entry to the so-called Full Self-Driving software program that they’ve already paid as much as $10,000 for, so they might be prepared to recreation the system to get a rating that’s adequate,” Fisher mentioned.
Granted, Tesla’s Security Scores are nonetheless of their early phases, and Elon Musk himself has famous that the system remains to be very a lot a beta calculation right this moment. Musk did observe that Security Scores ought to evolve over time to accurately predict crash probability. Funkhouser, for her half, advised that Tesla ought to optimize its Security Rating metrics as quickly as attainable. She additionally advised including different metrics to the Security Rating system, reminiscent of automobile velocity.
“Tesla automobiles, greater than most different vehicles on the street, can acquire the context of a drive—why a driver hits the brakes, whether or not a light-weight is about to show, what street situations are like—however the security rating ignores that. Hitting the brakes to keep away from a bicycle owner or a pedestrian doesn’t make you a foul driver,” she mentioned.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with information ideas. Simply ship a message to [email protected] to provide us a heads up.
