State Police Catch Tesla Driver on 'Auto Pilot' Driving While Sleeping on Interstate Highway

jcgriff2

jcgriff2

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Tesla's AitoPilot strikes again!

Driver caught sound asleep by State Highway Patrol on a US Interstate highway.




Most/all (?) states do not yet have laws against "Sleeping While Driving". Tesla recently introduced video games that drivers can play while driving on AutoPilot. What's next - you call your car and it drives itself to pick you up? 😲

The alleged sleeping driver has 2 priors for sleeping while driving in Wisconsin alone.

And what job was this very tired and allegedly sleeping driver on his way to?

Incredibly, he is a FedEx delivery driver and is on his way for a 12-hour shift!!

John
 
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The technology has already been around for a few years to detect when the driver's eyes close and stay closed for longer than a typical blink. Odd that is not automatically included in these auto-pilot cars.
 
What kills me, is that according to the Deputy this was not the driver's first offence of this type. :oops:
 
Good job it wasn't raining or you'd be soaked by the time it gets there. ;):LOL:
 
Fully autonomous vehicles are very close indeed to being a reality.

I expect "the hump" to be consumer acceptance of same. I also expect them to be safer drivers than people are, once the technology is "perfected."
 
britechguy said:
Fully autonomous vehicles are very close indeed to being a reality.
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I don't see it happening for awhile. It is like COVID-19. It will not be defeated until the vast majority of people have been vaccinated.

In terms of fully autonomous vehicles, it will not be reality until the vast majority of vehicles are so equipped and can "see" (through IOT) each other and therefore compensate for all other cars on the road - including those approaching the same intersections from different directions.

What I am waiting for is the elimination of traffic jams where all cars can move in sync. Then it would be like an entire squadron of marching troops who "step-off" with their first step at the exact same time, instead of second-in-line waiting until first-in-line takes their first step, third-in-line waiting on the second, and so on. 100s of cars will be able to move at 70mph down the freeway, bumper to bumper, safely because all the cars will be communicating with each other, keeping each other aware of their intentions.
 
andrewlen said:
If Tesla ever brought out a model that looks like KITT from Knight Rider and talks to you as well, then I'd take out a loan to get one :LOL:
Click to expand...

I think that the Tesla Model S, as is, is far more attractive than KITT (based on a very late version of the Pontiac Firebird) ever was. The talking part, hmmm . . .
 
Digerati said:
I don't see it happening for awhile. It is like COVID-19. It will not be defeated until the vast majority of people have been vaccinated.

In terms of fully autonomous vehicles, it will not be reality until the vast majority of vehicles are so equipped and can "see" (through IOT) each other and therefore compensate for all other cars on the road - including those approaching the same intersections from different directions.

What I am waiting for is the elimination of traffic jams where all cars can move in sync. Then it would be like an entire squadron of marching troops who "step-off" with their first step at the exact same time, instead of second-in-line waiting until first-in-line takes their first step, third-in-line waiting on the second, and so on. 100s of cars will be able to move at 70mph down the freeway, bumper to bumper, safely because all the cars will be communicating with each other, keeping each other aware of their intentions.
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They already have the "premise" with air traffic control. I agree it would take a lot of time and money but it's not like they are starting out dry.

I have been watching this guy for a while now and learned a lot of stuff I never knew about Airplanes, Air Traffic, Controllers, etc.
 
britechguy said:
I think that the Tesla Model S, as is, is far more attractive than KITT (based on a very late version of the Pontiac Firebird) ever was. The talking part, hmmm . . .
Click to expand...
Get in the car Brian.
WilliamDaniels1.jpg
 
xrobwx71 said:
They already have the "premise" with air traffic control.
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Oh yeah. And have for years too. But then "control" is right there in the name.

If you ever get a chance to tour an air traffic control tower, I recommend you do it. I used to maintain the radios and consoles (where the controllers sit) in military towers. I would find excuses to sit up there and watch. Fascinating. Particularly fascinating is where fighter jets operate out of. Because of their tiny wing surface areas, they have to move fast to get and maintain enough lift. And they often launch (take off) and land in 2 and 4-ship formations. That is fun to watch - something you don't see with civilian aircraft.

When I was in England, we had two SR-71s stationed there. Now that was really fascinating to watch.
 
Digerati said:
What I am waiting for is the elimination of traffic jams where all cars can move in sync. Then it would be like an entire squadron of marching troops who "step-off" with their first step at the exact same time, instead of second-in-line waiting until first-in-line takes their first step, third-in-line waiting on the second, and so on. 100s of cars will be able to move at 70mph down the freeway, bumper to bumper, safely because all the cars will be communicating with each other, keeping each other aware of their intentions.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but NO WAY - ever.

What happens when one or two of these cars doing 70 mph bumper-to-bumper suffers a tire blowout? Or the battery pack bursts into flames and the car catches on fire like several around here have?

Besides, there is nothing better than driving a twin turbo-charged V12 sedan at 90-100 mph, safely of course, down a 16-lane Interstate highway for 100-200 miles. Very relaxing. :-)
 
jcgriff2 said:
What happens when one or two of these cars doing 70 mph bumper-to-bumper suffers a tire blowout?
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They won't be that close, as that defies "safely." Human drivers are well-known for not maintaining necessary safe following distance. I'd sincerely hope that the software for self-driving cars would not be as stupid as some drivers are.

The "bumper to bumper" part, though, is a complete fantasy, and should be, too. There are certain failures that cannot be predicted and sufficient reaction time at a safe following distance would have to be part of the algorithms.
 
jcgriff2 said:
Sorry, but NO WAY - ever.

What happens when one or two of these cars doing 70 mph bumper-to-bumper suffers a tire blowout?
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That's what run-flat tires are for! ;)

But still, it could work because within milliseconds of a malfunction, that information would be communicated to all the other vehicles in the "formation". Those in front would immediately pull away. Those in back would immediately back off. And those on the side would make way to allow the faulty car to pull over.

It will never be perfect of course. But it sure would be safer than today where safety depends on the individual drivers paying attention. And no, not literally "bumper-to-bumper". But much closer than the 2 second rule of thumb today.

jcgriff2 said:
Besides, there is nothing better than driving a twin turbo-charged V12 sedan at 90-100 mph, safely of course, down a 16-lane Interstate highway for 100-200 miles. Very relaxing.
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I seem to remember "flying" the 90MPH speed limit across Montana many years ago. And I think there are a couple 85MPH stretches across Texas today.

I spent some time in Germany driving the Autobahn. It is an odd feeling cruising along at at 160 "clicks" (100MPH) and a beamer or merc comes up behind you flashing their high beams telling you to get the f*&^ out of the way!
 
Digerati said:
But still, it could work because within milliseconds of a malfunction, that information would be communicated to all the other vehicles in the "formation". Those in front would immediately pull away. Those in back would immediately back off. And those on the side would make way to allow the faulty car to pull over.
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When we discuss these issues, This is what I see. (As far as the reaction) :p
 
Digerati said:
But still, it could work because within milliseconds of a malfunction, that information would be communicated to all the other vehicles in the "formation".
Click to expand...

This presumes that there will be no issues with wireless communication, ever, which we all know is not probable to ever be the case.

I don't think a truly "packed" formation will ever become "the thing" except if there is a closure and cars need to stack up as closely as possible until traffic is allowed to proceed again. And when it does, adequate spacing will be built in.
 
britechguy said:
except if there is a closure and cars need to stack up as closely as possible
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Elon Musk unveils prototype high-speed LA transport tunnel.

britechguy said:
This presumes that there will be no issues...
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:( Well, of course it presumes a lot. Obviously there would have to be multiple redundancies. I can see it happening through multiple combinations of cell towers, satellite systems, and even induction sensors built into the road itself. And no doubt it would be expensive. But it would be cheaper for the insurance companies to actually invest in these technologies to prevent accidents, than it is to pay out for all the accidents, injuries and associated lawsuits happening today.

These problems are not insurmountable.
 
Digerati said:
But it would be cheaper for the insurance companies to actually invest in these technologies to prevent accidents, than it is to pay out for all the accidents, injuries and associated lawsuits happening today.
Click to expand...

To a point. It will be a cost-benefit analysis, that's for sure. "Good enough" in reducing expense without incurring even more expense to try to eliminate all the real edge cases will likely be where things stop.
 

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