There are 4 or 5 manufacturers with these types of driver assist systems including Nissan with Propilot, GM with Supercruise, Tesla with Autopilot etc. Some are GPS Geo Fenced systems like GM Supercruise and others a mix of optics, Lidar, Radar etc. Audi had a level 3 system for a short time last year but degraded it back to a level 2 system. All level 2 systems need to be supervised by the driver and the driver needs to be ready to take over at any time. They definitely add a layer of safety to driving as they are very good at some things like
* keeping distance to the vehicle in front of you on cruise (otherwise known as TACC or traffic aware cruise control)
* keeping between the lines on lined highways
* stopping at stop signs or stop lights (Tesla autopilot and I think Audi)
* helping to avoid speeding tickets as they read the speed limit signs and adjust the speed accordingly (Mercedes and Tesla as well as others)
They are not bad at handling interchanges and automatically changing lanes but in my experience (at least for Tesla) should be watched closely when the car is handling these maneuvers as it is not perfect.
Most manufacturers have some collision avoidance capability in the way of emergency braking but again the car needs to be monitored. For example, it is not uncommon for Jarvis (name of my wifes model 3 Tesla) to "Phantom brake" when passing under an overpass. Not enough to cause an accident but enough to wake you up. The car gets "nervous" going around bicycles on single lane roads and technically the manual says to disengage when passing close to a bike or pedestrian...which we do. Its all quite intuitive and disengaging autosteer is as easy as pulling gently on the wheel, or completely disabling autopilot by tapping the brake pedal or flicking the steering wheel stock. It is a much more relaxing drive and insurance companies love these systems as the accident rate is much lower when these systems are on. In the case of Teslas autopilot 70 percent less.
We personally would never buy another vehicle without something like autopilot. The car sees lots of things we don't and overall it adds a lot to the driving experience.
However, they are not perfect and won't avoid things like vehicles parked on the side of the road etc, because if they did they may have to cross the lane line which may cause another accident. They are not that smart...yet. I'm sure that is coming. But right now in unusual circumstances like the accidents listed in the thread above they are not designed to execute radical avoidance maneuvers. They will (to a small degree) swerve to avoid certain things like cars moving into your lane unexpectedly etc. Youtube is full of videos of these type of situations and accidents avoided as a result of actions autopilot took. But stopped traffic in the road?...nope. Even emergency braking is only programmed to slow the vehicle before the crash, not to stop it.
These systems (or at least Tesla's systems that I am familiar with) can not be enabled without getting a warning to stay alert and keep your hands on the wheel. If people ignore these rules they are morons. Playing video games or watching movies???...Really?
It is interesting that people run into vehicles on the road all the time but if a Tesla does it it is world wide news. Not sure what drives that, I would say that there maybe an anti-american car maker element to it but Tesla sells more cars in Europe and China than they do in the US so not sure what drives the negative publicity. Our Tesla has been stellar and is the most reliable and lowest operating cost vehicle we have ever owned. Zero to sixty in 4 seconds flat, handles like a cat on carpet, all wheel drive, and its sooo purrrddyyy.
(And yah it's hers)
Pictures below of her baby.
