Video shows motorist asleep behind wheel of self-driving Tesla
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A motorist on the Massachusetts Turnpike captured a man asleep behind the wheel of his self-driving Tesla, keeping up with traffic, in the lane next to him.
Dakota Randall filmed the unidentified man around 3 p.m. on Sunday while he was driving near Newton, Massachusetts, according to NBC Boston .
"I kind of looked over and saw what I thought was somebody asleep at the wheel," Randall said. "I was like that can’t be right, so I did a double-take, looked over and sure enough this guy was just, head between his legs completely asleep."
Randall attempted to wake the driver by honking his horn, but he said that proved to be no help.
It is unclear how long the driver, who was not identified, was asleep, Randall said he only drove alongside the vehicle for up to a minute before speeding away from the Tesla.
The Tesla website says its autopilot feature is to be used "with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any time. While Autopilot is designed to become more capable over time, in its current form, it is not a self-driving system."
"Many of these videos appear to be dangerous pranks or hoaxes," a Tesla spokesperson said in a statement. "Our driver-monitoring system repeatedly reminds drivers to remain engaged and prohibits the use of Autopilot when warnings are ignored."
"Tesla owners have driven billions of miles using Autopilot, and data from our quarterly Vehicle Safety Report indicates that drivers using Autopilot experience fewer accidents than those operating without assistance," the spokesperson added.
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This is the reason why Ford motor company chose to not deploy its automatic breaking technology in the 1980s. It was concerned that people would rely on the braking system instead of being constantly aware. As we migrate to autonomous vehicles this natural tendency of human beings to trust the technology after a while will have to be carefully countered by the manufacturers. Design features such as Tesla's forcing the driver to constantly hold the driving wheel is an example of a critical feature.
I saw this on the news weeks back.
People have to be aware and not confuse a 'self driving' vehicle with that of one with advanced safety features.
There is a Huge difference.
I don't trust my damn cruise control, forget what this guy was doing.
Just my two nonsense.
Spot on iggy.
That's OK, i have Spot remover.
I can always adopt another Spot, and see how Spot runs, but if he's running into traffic,
how does a computer decide which is more important, and or prioritize, if say running over Spot, VS/over say avoiding Spot, and running into opposing traffic and possibly killing a human being...?
.
Are you aware how a self driving car, or these advance safety feature ones, are able to
Prioritise, what life, or risk of another life, is somehow configured as taking precedent over that of another ?
As the human mind can't always process in time, and our priorities vary, so just wondering how real artificial intelligence is able to process and compute the worth of things that individuals tend to value differently, dependent on said individual ?
AI features like these do not care about what the obstruction is ... they seek to avoid hitting everything.
I hate my car's automatic braking feature. If I'm going around a sharp turn, and there's a tree or mailbox in the turn, my car sometimes panics and warns me not to hit it. I'm not going to hit it, but I have to get somewhat near it to avoid going off the road. It's even beeped frantically at leaves blowing across the road.
I really need to remember to get my owner's manual out and figure out how to disable it.
Indeed there is much work needed. Both my Mini and my wife's Audi have adaptive cruise control. This feature depends upon the car being able to detect obstructions in the lane and thus automatically slow down. I was driving my son back to school and all of a sudden my Mini informs me that my cruise control is disabled. Excuse me? Turns out that at the time of day, the sun was at the right angle to blind my Mini's front sensors. It was too bright and the image processing could not work. So I could only use my cruise control when the highway veered away from the sun. The trip back, of course, was not a problem.
The solution to this is to polarize the light and/or use alternate sensors such as sound and infrared. The advantage of technology is that it can grow sensors that are far beyond the capabilities of a driver. So, while the technology today is workable, the technology of the future will be awesome.
On your problem, the AI will certainly improve to not freak out when it sees mailboxes on a sharp turn. Human image processing really is amazing. We are so good at processing images it is quite difficult for a machine to rise to our level. But it will and it will go beyond.
My car has adaptive cruise, too, and I like it, except in heavy traffic. I'm still ready to brake, if needed. It also has lane keep assist, which will keep the car centered in the lane. I disabled that because it's very jerky, and it fights me on curvy roads, where hugging the curves gives me better control.
Bright sunlight, heavy rain, and condensation all mess with my adaptive cruise.
I used cruise control as a benefit to rest my legs and feet while on a relatively deserted highway, but I damn well kept my hands on the wheel and my eyes open. There's no way I would even want to be a passenger in a self-driving car.
i'm with you on this Buzz, i don't trust most of the human beings i drive with, let alone AI
ive always driven the majority of time on road trips, unless intoxicated, as then i will easily become the back seat driver
I gotta be honest, if you can't take a nap, what is the point of a self-driving car?
problem being
is don't believe it IS a self driving car, is it ?
To 'spell' the driver's limbs (not his or her attention span). (Smile.)
I'm with you on that
dude should have reclined his seat, otherwise his neck would have a crick in it when he got home.
Worse, if the vehicle stops abruptly his neck is in a very vulnerable position.
being in the drivers seat when the airbag deploys is like getting hit in the face with a hot beachball... x100
Gasp! Say it isn't so! CAUTION: A dangerous 'Trout G' on the road. Love everyone in your neighborhood will wag their head at the 'shiftlessness.' And, what will you do when the police person gets in front of you to slow your car down (to a halt) and he uses the car as a 'tip-off' that the person inside has probably tied one on too many?
Also, what does the self-driving AI 'do' when some other driver strays out his or her lane towards it and it can't steer "away" due to a car being opposite it on both sides? Does this car account for other drivers' mistakes? 'Things that make me go hmm.' (Smile.)
Yep - or people will use it to avoid DUIs.
How could you NOT take a nap if you weren't engaged with the actual driving? It would be boring. I love to drive.
Don't take this the wrong way. It's a legitimate question: Is that putting one's faith in a 'car'? Or, AI? Or, technology? (Smile.)
Call me old fashioned and a traditionalist, but I use a bed or a couch for naps. Want to nap in a car, book UBER or LYFT.
I nap when somebody else is driving....
Good point.
i kid about napping
when the lights are on
and nobodies home, cause
they went out driving with some
body else besides the kids, napping,
Is something difficult to not do when one
is on a roll, cause when i'm on a role, i try
and model it after i;m on the runway, taxying
before my Uber Lyfts me up so high, i need a nap
, it's akin to driving with my eyes closed and being a
woken,by an outta chloroform napkin,improperly folded
by the dualling alarm clock/Bridge Abutment, but, just kid
Napping hostages R often awoken when alarm/bridge stops
Everything
, accept my imagination, as it is exceptionull n should B a voided
Sorry T.i.G,i was driving my new self driving car, and i'm so selfish ,
i wouldn't let the car drive, i made it sit in the backseat with me while
, we both must have dozed off, ten minutes, or so while reading
texts in the automatic manual,laboring through the fourwards
with four lettered words, that i've been cursed with,but T.i.G
had means and motive, and was also justifiably justified!
Sorry TiG
gotta go, my Limmo's here. Hey , wait a minute where's Waldo?
Society should make laws 'tomorrow' that will take the self-driving feature or the car itself from drivers who over-depend on AI to drive them to there destinations. Or at the least allow law enforcement to treat the driver's 'ailment' which causes drowsiness with a large and resounding from Florida to California ticket!
A car is a deadly weapon, and one that is not on a track ever moreso.
I would like one so I can go to a bar
and then say take me home car
There have been many fatal accidents as a result of drivers falling asleep at the wheel. Good to see this marvelous safety feature working. I wish all cars had it many lives would be saved.
I wouldn't even Trust "Auto-Pilot" in the sky. And that's not even congested up there.
That comment, reminds me of the one about driving in space. It would be just my luck to set "auto-pilot" on my spacecraft and 'locate' the first invisible space barrier!
For sure.
That poor 'sap' in the article pic, what will he do if AI decides to 'fart' and take the car on a joy ride? WAKKEE UP!!! Buyers are told when they buy the Tesla that sometimes the (AI) feature like all good computers, needs resetting. Once I was a passenger in a Tesla when the camera display screen shut off and on.
I can't resist saying this? Where is the commonsense in people falling to sleep in a car moving at 60 MPH?
I have an important legal question. If the person sitting behind the wheel of a self-driving car has over the legal limit of alcohol in his system, can he still be convicted of driving while impaired if he argues that he wasn't driving, the car was?
You tell us, Counselor.
I don't think there are any decided judgments - binding legal precedents to follow for that issue. A court would have to make a new decision.
My guess is the sleeper would be cited. Where I live you can get pulled over if your bicycle wobbles or your riding lawn mower is swerving.
I think that at least a reasonable doubt exists, and in a criminal matter a reasonable doubt should be sufficient for acquittal.
Yes, because the driver is still in control of the vehicle.
If I could have a car that would legally drive me home with no worries I would buy one now and I think many people would. And I would not have just go to places I can walk home from
i'll drink to that,
hell, i'll drink to most anything
cheers
I think the day will come when there will be a service that you use like Uber or Lift, it just won't have a human in the car. If you think about it many people would never even buy a car although something tells me that's not the case with you, lol.
A self driving car would have been handy for my resent colonoscopey and hernia surgery, which went good and I am doing good after.
Travel is a big problem for people taking treatments
Not to mention seniors and the visually impaired living in rural areas where there is no public transit.
Glad you're doing well.
thanks, I am glad it is fixed
I am so glad you are getting that colonoscopy 'project' done. It is most important. I am a 'booster' for colonoscopy in my family. Turning 50 in my family? They will hear from me about the 'ripe' time for a colon check up! (Smile.) I am glad your hernia is fixed too -Ouch!
Incidentally Charger - the auto-pilot in a Tesla does not have a destination program, does it? Does anybody know?
I know very little about Teslas auto pilot, but I do know Colonoscopies save lives and tell people that. I was glad Doctor ordered it early.
Good for you caring about your family
My grandmother died of colon cancer. Before she passed, she made my dad and all of his siblings who hadn't already done so promise to get their colonoscopies. And they all did.
People in my family have died of colon and stomach cancers. I am talking to another relative now because it's (well past) time for 'The colon talk.' (Smile.)
I am so glad your doctor is one that is 'on' those preventive tests. We need people like this. This is the best science that proactively looks for stuff! Now then, you won't need a 'sleepy-ride' home in an auto-piloted car when you go for your flu shot! They're here!
yes, it is time for that too
That it is, every 3 months I gotta travel to and from the nearest city for eye treatments (I can't drive back afterwards). Anyway I take a medical shuttle and depending on how many are on it the total time is 8 to 12 hours
An auto drive car would be the cat's meow