Yes! That’s Right! Tesla Autopilot Saves Lives!

Cars are a dangerous form of transport, so Tesla strives to make its safest by developing and implementing the Active safety features and Autopilot.

In the 4th quarter 2020, the company registered one accident for every 3.07 million miles driven in which drivers had Autopilot engaged. For those driving without Autopilot but with their active safety features, they registered one accident for every 2.10 million miles driven. For those driving without Autopilot and without Tesla's active safety features, the company registered one accident for every 1.64 million miles driven. By comparison, NHTSA’s data for same period shows that in the US there is an automobile crash approximately every 480,000 miles.

In the dark, the danger of an accident increases and drivers are often simply not able to make out an object that suddenly appears on the road. Some people are irresponsible, so sometimes they are intoxicated or at the moment of mental fog can go right in front of a moving car.

User Reddit u/solarfloat shared a video of how his Tesla, which was driving with an activated Autopilot, prevented a collision with a pedestrian who was crossing the road in the wrong place.

Pretty impressed with what autopilot just did : pic.twitter.com/WYtwg0FL80

— TESLA_saves_lives (@SavedTesla) April 18, 2020

"I noticed early on that this pedestrian was looking like they might walk into the road. I wanted to see what autopilot would do, though, so I waited for a second or two before intervening," wrote u/solarfloat. "To my amazement, the car came to a very smooth stop as soon as it saw the person walk into the road. I disengaged because it started moving up right after they started walking and I didn't want them to think I was going to hit them."

The video also clearly shows how another driver who was driving a Dodge Charger could not brake in advance. After he braked, his car drove another 33 feet and if the pedestrian had not stopped, then the accident could not have been avoided.

People are not perfect, they sometimes act unpredictably and imprudently, putting their own and other people, life and health at risk. A human-pilot is also imperfect, so sometimes he is simply not able to avoid some accidents. But human has already done everything possible to be the best driver, while Autopilot, compared with human-pilot, becomes more reliable over time. That’s why Tesla’s cars are becoming safer, but Autopilot is saving lives now.