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Self-Driving Tesla Owners Share Videos of Reckless Driving (nytimes.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The driver killed in a Tesla car accident "celebrated the Autopilot feature that made it possible for him to cruise the highways, making YouTube videos of himself driving hands-free," reports the New York Times, adding that one of his videos of a near-miss went viral just 11 weeks before his death -- after it was shared on Twitter by Elon Musk. But USA Today reports that Tesla drivers have also filmed themselves playing Jenga and Checkers or sleeping while using the autopilot feature. "Even though Tesla tells drivers to 'keep your hands on the wheel at all times and stay alert,' the temptation to test a no-hands drive is just too much."
In April, a Volvo driver had criticized Tesla for releasing a dangerous "wannabe" Autopilot system. But when Tesla introduced the self-driving feature in October, Elon Musk argued that "Long term, it'll be way better than a person. It never gets tired, never has something to drink, never argues with someone in the car." He had also said that within three years Tesla cars should be able to drive a sleeping driver in to work -- but that that functionality is not currently supported.
In April, a Volvo driver had criticized Tesla for releasing a dangerous "wannabe" Autopilot system. But when Tesla introduced the self-driving feature in October, Elon Musk argued that "Long term, it'll be way better than a person. It never gets tired, never has something to drink, never argues with someone in the car." He had also said that within three years Tesla cars should be able to drive a sleeping driver in to work -- but that that functionality is not currently supported.
In the Netherlands we have one of the most comprehensive public transport systems, but even here it's pretty rare to find door to door transportation. For a good while my commute was almost literally door-to-door, a single train journey with 3 minute walks on either end, which was brilliant. Then I changed jobs and had to take the same train a bit further, then ride the tram... As soon as you have to change trains or buses, public transport starts to suck, especially if you need to be on time. It easily adds another 15 minutes to your journey, and I found that on that second job taking the car, traffic jams and all, was the better option. Also because it lets you divert to do other errants on the way to or from work.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Go see the videos for yourself
...adding that one of his videos of a near-miss went viral.
Context mincing BS, the near miss was a truck haphazardly changing lanes without looking into the teslas lane... the tesla avoided the accident, but this is phrased to be intentionally interpreted as the exact opposite.
His other stupid video showing "reckless" driving is pretty stupid looking and cringeworthy but it's actually on a private road. I think the autopilot is actually pretty dangerous and incorrectly interpreted as "self driving" as others here have stated, but that's no reason for this crude BS article that reads like it's been paid for by the defence lawyers.
I drove my Tesla with autopilot for a month. It works great in 2 situations: 1) wide open road, good lane markings, light traffic and 2) stop and go in traffic jams.
It truly is horrible in the following situations:
1) where lane markings are faded or confusing (road construction, lanes have been moved)
2) where traffic is moderately dense, and there are curves - the system cannot see far enough ahead to anticipate the curves, so you wind up with abrupt maneuvers
3) where someone is merging from either side - sometimes it works , sometimes it freaks out
4) on twisting mountain roads, with good lane markings
5) where you are right next to the median barrier (e.g. carpool lanes)
In the latter case, small lateral changes in the barrier position (e.g. from a overpass column embedded in the median barrier) can trigger *exciting* steering wheel inputs as the car attempts to avoid running into the barrier. If one is commuting in the carpool lane at reasonable speeds (>40 mi/hr), one had best keep one's hands on the wheel and one's eyes open waiting for the "ding dong" that tells you the autopilot gave up and it's "Jesus take the wheel" time.
I found it more stressful to drive with autopilot on than with it off.
The big flaw is that the forward looking system isn't smart enough - it does not anticipate turns far enough ahead - this is really obvious on a mountain road with lots of turns: it goes into the turn fast, realizes that the road bends, and tromps on the brakes to get the speed down so it can make the turn. Then it speeds up coming out of the turn. You're never sure if it's going to be able to do it.
In traffic, it tends to "follow the car in front", which is good if the lane markings are poor, but if there's a bend in the freeway, it's not so good - again, it's the abrupt "I've got to turn now" action.
The adaptive cruise control is awesome - smooth handling of speed in heavy traffic from 0 mi/hr all the way up to 70-75 mi/hr. The lane guidance not so much.
Fact is they have a driver assist system called "autopilot" where autopilot is a fairly well defined term.
Autopilot is a fairly well defined term, yes... in the aviation field. And, even then, pilots are required to remain at the controls in case something goes wrong and they need to react.
Are you a pilot? No.
How do I know? Because I know actual commercial pilots and I've asked them (out of prior curiosity) what they can and can not do with autopilot.
A pilot would never, for example, turn on autopilot and take a nap at the same time as their copilot; they'd get fired for that, or worse. Yes, a pilot can take a nap during a flight, while autopilot is engaged and their copilot is awake, alert, and able to control the plane. There are always at least two entities in control of the plane, lest one of them fuck up.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Not so fast here... What appears to have happened, is this driver found a corner-case that a collision detection system actually may not have been designed to detect.
Yes, and they should add that capability.
While remembering the fact that this Tractor trailer made an unsafe and illegal turn cutting through a highway, thus being responsible for the accident. Given the white background against white sky, the driver probably would not have seen it until too late; even if they were paying attention.
So this is still a pretty darn good track record for the Tesla.
Autopilot killed 1 person; ever. And it did so on a location where it was not intended to be used. The safety record doesn't mean nothing, but there is still room for improvement. The difference is now the improvement can be shared to all cars via an update. In a standard fatal accident, the improvements are much harder to act upon. Reference: http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHT...