A U.S. crash investigation ends up suggesting the feature actually increases safety—significantly.
by
Tom Randall
Tesla’s driver-assistance features, known collectively as Autopilot, have been vindicated.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has closed its investigation into
a May 7 collision with a tractor-trailer that killed a driver using
Autopilot. The agency found no indication of a safety problem with it.
In fact, the evidence provided by Tesla included crucial data that’s
been missing from the safety debate surrounding automated cars: crash
rates.
Tesla is in a unique position to determine the precise
impact of Autopilot on crash rates, more so than any other car
manufacturer. That’s because while all Tesla vehicles come with the
hardware necessary for Autopilot, you need a software upgrade that costs
thousands of dollars to make it work. Since buyers can add Autopilot
features after purchase, this provides a perfect before-and-after
comparison.
It turns out that, according to the data Tesla
gave investigators, installing Autopilot prevents crashes—by an
astonishing 40 percent. The chart below comes from the report NHTSA
issued while concluding its investigation. Approximately one-third of
the mileage on the cars was logged before the upgrade to Autosteer (the
most controversial component of the driving suite), while the remaining
miles were accrued after installation.
Crash rates in model years 2014-2016 Model S and Model X vehicles.
Source: NHTSA, Tesla
Tesla’s
reputation took a hit after it disclosed the death that triggered the
federal probe. It’s no exaggeration to say it changed the way people
think about self-driving cars, despite the thousands of deaths annually
tied to ordinary vehicles. Consumer Reports went so far as to call on Tesla
to revoke the features until changes were made. What Tesla had
initially designed to be a safety feature had suddenly become a
liability.
The only statistic that Tesla offered in its public
defense at the time was flimsy: Teslas had been driven on Autopilot for
130 million miles before the first fatal crash, compared with a national
U.S. rate of 94 million miles per fatality. With only one death, this
was hardly good statistical evidence, especially when one considers that
the Tesla Model S has the highest safety rating to begin with and
Autopilot is recommended only for highway driving.
Now—thanks to an investigation that initially hurt the company—there is finally some real data, and it’s good news for Tesla.
“Tesla is not under any active investigation after today,” said NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas.
Autopilot Evolves
A
separate investigation into the fatal accident by the National
Transportation Safety Board is ongoing and will present conclusions by
early summer. The NTSB is an independent agency that has no regulatory
power.
Meanwhile Autopilot continues to evolve. Tesla rolled out a new version of its software
in November, known as Tesla 8.0. The update requires drivers to touch
the steering wheel more frequently and increases Autopilot's reliance on
radar, in addition to cameras and ultrasonic sensors. Tesla Chief
Executive Officer Elon Musk said 8.0 would have been able to detect the
truck that was involved in the fatal broadside accident. In
October, the company began shipping new Autopilot hardware with enhanced
sensors that it says will eventually enable fully autonomous driving.
Every car now ships with eight cameras and a dozen sensors to give
360-degree visibility. The company is rolling out new features that make
use of the sensor suite in regular over-the-air updates.
As the
software matures to match the new hardware, Musk said on Thursday via a
Tweet, Tesla is targeting a 90 percent reduction in car crashes.
If you read this article you may think it is due to rote learning but actually it is not. Read the last sentence:
“Because again, there may be variations with the top half class
taking off well. Some schools might pull through and others might be
diabolically off.”
Again: Gaps between the rich and poor
He said in Malaysia, the system worked well for the middle class and
the rich but the bottom half of the population was unable to catch up.
Why?
"He said a study showed that 51% of those from the lower classes, who
work in factories, were unable to read manuals or perform basic
procedures."
The reason is simple. In order to increase passing rates, where the requirement is 100%, whereas in Europe these students should have failed and will drop out of classes. No wonder the bottom 50% are the same as the dropouts in Europe. No dropouts in Malaysia. Everybody passes.
" Citing a recent research on literacy among Indonesian students, which
among others found their level to be similar to junior high school
dropouts in Denmark,"
Actually it started in Indonesia and Philippines. It was not like
this during the British days. Nowadays, Malaysia has followed the
Indonesian system. Everybody passes. How? Not really rote learning. Many
questions are leaked out so students just memorise the answer during
exams. The bottom 50% are just not interested to learn that they only
aim for passing mark despite knowing all the questions.
After the exam, they just forget.
The
worst are the polytekniks. Most will get A but they cannot even read
any instruction. Cannot even remember what they had learned. There is nothing wrong with rote learning as long as they can still remember after the examinations. For example, multiplication tables and languages. If you cannot even remember any word or basic multiplications, how can you even master any language or any arithmetic at all?
The solution is just some decent ethics and honesty. At least in India, the teachers are requied to complete a syllabus. At least some good students can still learn by themselves. In Malaysia, the KPI is passing rate. The lesser the syllabus, the better the passing rate. Soon students can pass exams with flying colours but do not know anyting. It had already happened in school public examinations. Recently there was an attempt to correct it by making the cutoff rate much higher for those getting As. And now there are so many compliants that there are less students getting As. The KPI was in getting 100% and increasing number of students getting As, and it was achieveable every year without fail.
Soon there are so many students getting As, it has become meaningless to get an A grade. Getting an A is a passing grade.
In our days, in the 1970s, getting a C grade was already considered excellent and would allow you to get overseas scholarships. Despite the lack of overseas scholarships, unlike nowadays. Now, even with As, you cannot get any scholarship at all despite the thousands of scholarships on offer.
Rote learning a bane in tertiary education, Harvard professor warns
Malaysia has great education policies but these could be hampered by rote learning and a lack of emphasis on critical thinking.
Professor Lant Pritchett
SUBANG JAYA: The Malaysian government may have invested sufficient
funds in education complete impressive teaching tools in schools, but
there is still a lot to be done to raise the quality of graduates from
its tertiary institutions, according to a US academic.
Citing a recent research on literacy among Indonesian students, which
among others found their level to be similar to junior high school
dropouts in Denmark, Harvard professor Lant Pritchett said he feared the
same could be true with Malaysia if its schools failed to prepare
students for university-level education.
“The reason is because students leave primary school without
mastering the subjects and the same with secondary (school students). By
the time they reach the tertiary (level), they are left far behind,” he
told FMT.
“There is no deep understanding of the materials. Instead, it is rote
memorisation, applying theory and regurgitating it during exams,” he
told FMT.
Pritchett was in Malaysia for the Asia Public Policy Forum 2016
co-hosted by Harvard Kennedy School and the Jeffrey Cheah Institute of
Southeast Asia here.
He said the real measure of education should be mastery of the
subject with practical application, and which was not confined to rote
memorisation of the subject.
Professor Michael Woolcock
Redefine role of education
He added the system should redefine the role of education “to not
just schooling that focuses on butts and seats but on ideas and hats so
that children emerging out of the schooling system were adequate for the
21st century.”
Another Harvard University professor, Michael Woolcock, said the big
challenge for Malaysia was making sure the system worked for everybody.
“(Take) the European system (for example). They have been doing it
for 200 years and it has worked very well for them. They have developed a
good traditional practice and a strong sense from the community and
parents to help students learn critical thinking skills and apply what
they learn.” Gaps between the rich and poor
He said in Malaysia, the system worked well for the middle class and
the rich but the bottom half of the population was unable to catch up.
“The needs of the rich, middle (class) and the poor in Malaysia are
wide (ranging). The different layers and gaps need to be enriched to
close the gap.”
Woolcock will return to Washington today after 18 months of researching the Malaysian education system.
He said a study showed that 51% of those from the lower classes, who
work in factories, were unable to read manuals or perform basic
procedures.
“They are unable to apply theory or understand English. It is not a
geography issue. In Malaysia, it is a class issue. For a system to work
really well, it has to work for everybody.
“The education system works fine for the top half but the big
challenge is to make it work for everybody, including rural villagers
and isolated communities.” English a big barrier
One of the biggest barriers was proficiency in the English language.
Woolcock said that just like in European countries, debates raged on
whether using English would compromise use of the mother tongue.
“These debates always happen but they have figured out how to do
both. They teach English very well. So much so Europeans are good at
both (English and their native language).”
For instance, in Iceland, they take their mother tongue seriously.
But they recognise that they are from a small country and if they could
only speak Icelandic, their economy might not be functional and meet the
needs of the world economy.
“Everyone (there) speaks Icelandic and English. They learn English to do deals with the Italians, Spaniards and others.”
He said in Malaysia, those who spoke English were from the upper and
middle classes, and were the ones who attracted foreign investors into
the country.
However, Woolcock said an education system should find ways to benefit all.
For instance, he said his study in Palestine showed that a school in
the middle of a war zone, and located in a desert, scored high marks of
international standard.
“That was a phenomenon. We later found out the community was coaching students to apply what they learnt. It worked for them.” Better tracking system
He said Malaysia needed a system to track the reasons why a school
performed better or worse than others so as to close the gap between
schools.
He added Malaysia had all the right ingredients for an efficient
education system but that the problem lay with policy implementation.
Woolcock added it was good that Malaysia spent large sums of money on
education and on tools like the blackboard and smart boards. “All the
raw materials and money are there but the implementation is not there.” Teachers need space to work well
He pointed out that the state of education in the country was not the
fault of individual teachers. “It is not that they are not smart or
capable or diligent in doing their job. The problem is the system they
are part of. If we want to change the system, you got to change the
rules and practices.”
He said teachers needed space to try something different. This was
because in some countries like India, a teacher was only considered good
when he or she completed all the chapters of a textbook. They were not
judged on whether the child had learnt anything.
“If a teacher has to show that all the subjects are completed to get a
salary increase, then that is what the teacher will do. The
prioritising is crucial.”
He praised the government for implementing higher order thinking
skills as well as the dual language programmes in national schools and
hoped these would be filtered down to the system.
“Because again, there may be variations with the top half class
taking off well. Some schools might pull through and others might be
diabolically off.”
I had studied these interpretations and they make more sense than the established interprestations. We should return to the quran, and interpret the meanings literally because Allah commands us. Anyone disobeying this command will go astray.
I may agree with the interpretations of the quran as explained in this website but it does not mean that I will change my practise.
"To
justify this alteration of God’s words, these interpreters claim that
the Quran is not easy to understand, and that only they are able to
decipher its mysteries!
Needless to say, this claim is totally in violation of God’s description of the Quran as a clear and easy to understand book:
"A.L.R. These are the signs of the clear book" 12:1
"We have made it (the Quran) easy to understand and in your own tongue (language) may you take heed." 44:58
With
the above in mind, we inquire: what did God prohibit regarding the pig?
Are we prohibited from eating any part of the pig? or just the meat of
the pig?"
It makes sense that only edible parts are haram, but this website only indicate bones as no haram, so hair and skin are also haram. However, to be on the safe side, I shall not use any part of the pig but I cannot clain that dried bones are also haram after hundreds of years as fossils. Common sense dictates that the bone should be harmless especially with special care.
This is a good summary but not complete. Trump will implement what many Muslims have accused USA to be doing. Now their prayers will be answered.
1)TRUMP will demand IRAQ oil for free.
2)TRUMP will get out of Afghanistan and Iraq.
3)TRUMP will even abandon Saudi Arabia.
4)For ASEAN, especially the Philippines, TRUMP will get out of the Pacific Ocean and will allow China to control the entire South China Sea.
5) FTA will be abandoned. USA will tax all ASEAN goods. Many Malaysians, especially the oppostion will be happy but the implication is the reduction in world trade.
"We feel convinced that the consequences of this really revolutionizing vision of truth will bring about a radical transformation in German life. For the first time in our history, The German people have found the way to a higher unity than they ever had before; and that is due to the compelling attraction of this inner feeling. Innumerable prejudices have been broken down, many barriers have been overthrown as unreasonable, evil traditions have been wiped out and antiquated symbols shown to be meaningless. From that chaos of disunion which had been caused by tribal, dynastic, philosophical, religious and political strife, the German nation has arisen "
Hitler's acceptance speech is similar to Trump's speech.
"I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all Americans and this is so important to me.
"For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so we can work together and unify our great country."
Both talked about Unity in a new vision of turth, but what a Unity.
Hitler talked about jewish unfairness.
Trump talked about unfair immigrants.
All are without any factual base and yet they were both voted in power in a bloodless revolution.
It shows to you how advanced Sabah was compared to Malaya. This is not the only example. Our radion communication was also among the most advanced in the world. These are of special importance to me as I live in front of the Sandakan Yacht Club and worked in the compound of the aerial farm where the original radio communication was first set up.
Sabah sailors make clean sweep at regatta
Ahmad Yusoff celebrates with other members of the SAILA team as he
lifts the Hales Trophy. On the left is SYC commodore Richard Lim
SANDAKAN: The oldest regatta in Malaysia, the 63rd edition of the
Borneo Interport Regatta, was successfully held here last weekend.
“This regatta which is the oldest in Malaysia, in my opinion, is one
of the most successful events in Sandakan this year,” Sabah Sailing
Association (SAILA) technical adviser and Chief Umpire Leonard Chin said
during the closing ceremony at the Sandakan Yacht Club.
Leonard congratulated the Sandakan Yacht Club (SYC) for having done a good job in organizing the regatta.
The last regatta held in Sandakan was more than 40 years ago.
He also thanked the Royal Malaysian Navy and Marine Police for
providing their assets in ensuring the safety of sailors during the
regatta.
“The Borneo Interport Regatta has been traditionally participated by
sailing clubs and associations from Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei Darussalam
since 1954.
“However, I hope we will invite sailing clubs from East Kalimantan for this event in the future,” Leonard said.
Nearly 60 sailors and officials from SAILA, Kinabalu Yacht Club,
Royal Malaysian Navy Yacht Club Kota Kinabalu (NYCKK) and SYC took part
in the regatta held at the sea fronting SYC last weekend.
SAILA dominated the two-day regatta, making a clean sweep of the three sailing events.
The umpire team was led by Leonard and assisted by former Sabah Sukan Malaysia sailor Mabel Lim.
In his speech, SYC commodore Richard Lim commended the organizing
team led by SYC rear commodore James Leong for successfully organizing
the regatta.
Lim also thanked Sabah Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Haji Tawfiq
Datuk Seri Haji Abu Bakar Titingan, sponsors, Royal Malaysian Navy,
Royal Malaysian Marine Police and all the participating teams.
The Borneo Interport Regatta 2016 ended with the Hales Trophy won by
SAILA, followed by KYC and NYCKK in second and third places
respectively.
For the Dusty Millar Trophy, SAILA ranked first followed by NYCKK and
SYC. In the Borneo Optimisit Regatta Trophy, SAILA came in first,
followed by KYC and SYC in second and third places respectively.
The Sandakan Darts Trophy and Sandakan Optimist Darts Trophy were won by SYC and KYC respectively.
