The latest innovation in cars is intent on taking the driver out of the picture. Though that tech hasn't quite arrived, driver-assisted systems have started to take off in recent years. General Motors has Super Cruise, Ford has BlueCruise and Nissan has ProPilot. And Tesla (TSLA) -), of course, has Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
While all require driver attention, the difference between these is that Tesla's tech requires hands on the wheel. The others are hands-free. But Tesla's FSD leads the public discourse on what autonomous driving looks like, making it easy for drivers to misunderstand the differences between Tesla's current FSD and the idea of true FSD, which would allow for driver inattention.
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That is creating a problem for one of Tesla's legacy competitors, GM, who is intent on outlining not only what GM's Super Cruise can and can't do, but also the differences between that technology and the one that powers the competition.
(GM) -) last week launched a "Hands Free, Eyes On" education program in an effort to jump this particular hurdle and help consumers get a little more comfortable with driver-assisted self-driving technology. Cars equipped with Super Cruise, the company said, are not full-autonomous vehicles. They require the driver's attention at all times, which means even if hands are off, eyes must be on the road.
“We know that to help achieve our vision of zero crashes, we must increase the adoption of advanced driver-assist systems and proactively highlight the benefits they offer,” Scott Miller, GM vice president of software said in a statement. “To increase usage, we must help drivers understand how currently available technologies, like Super Cruise, work and the responsibility drivers have when using ADAS features."
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GM -- which recently launched a website focused on this effort -- cited a AAA survey from March that stated: "There is also a need to dispel confusion around automated vehicles. AAA’s survey found that nearly one in ten drivers believe they can buy a vehicle that drives itself while they sleep."
This education-focused approach comes as GM is planning on increasing the prevalence of Super Cruise; the company has said that there are around 80,000 cars currently Super Cruising the roads, and has plans to bring it to 22 more models by the end of 2023.
But Tesla's more than 400,000 FSD-equipped cars have made Elon Musk's EV company the main talking point in the self-driving conversation, something that has made GM's education program that much more necessary.
“We can’t shield ourselves [from public perceptions],” Andrew Farah, GM's executive director of ADAS told the Verge. “General Motors can’t necessarily just say we’re completely different and separate from everybody else. We all get painted with the same brush.”
