Who’s Actually Driving This Thing? | Really, Really Long Trunks

This week’s podcast: Automakers are beginning to introduce more safety features that can temporarily take over for drivers, and gradually more and more vehicles will be able to drive themselves. However, there’s little clarity for drivers what each feature actually does, when, and under what circumstances. When it isn’t clear who’s responsible – the driver or the car – that’s called “mode confusion.” It’s well known to military aviators, but to hardly anyone else. We talk with former Navy fighter pilot, engineer, and autonomous systems expert Missy Cummings about the risks to motorists if automakers fail to plan for mode confusion.