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Originally Posted by Bbb34
Quote:
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Originally Posted by -c-
....even though tesla calls it auto pilot they say driver must keep hands in wheel and stay alert at all times in the instructions......
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Imagine 7 hour trip, or even commute to work, where you're not actually driving, but can't quite do other things.  Instead you must be alert and keep your hands on the wheel. Doesn't sound like fun, or relaxing experience to me. This is worse than actually having to focus on driving, be aware of your surroundings and anticipate whatever is coming your way. |
Except that most people don't do the above. Or at least don't do it often enough.
Frankly, neither do I.
I had two accidents in my life, both due to distractions in heavy bumper-to-bumper traffic.
One time a dude was busy doing something other than paying attention, and did not stop when the rest of the traffic stopped in front of him. So he plowed into my trunk, and pushed me into two cars ahead of me. I think Tesla's autopilot would have avoided this one just fine (if he had it). But this happened long before the Tesla or Mobileye (eyes and brains behind much of the autopilot) came into being.
The second time I screwed up. Changed lanes when someone had zoomed in to fill in a spot that was empty just before I got distracted. Not sure if Tesla's autopilot would have saved me there, as I don't think it would have initiated lane change in that situation. Or may be it would have, since it would have forced me to sit patiently in the slow lane.
Long story short - there are situation where the current state of the art auto-pilot systems are both good enough, and useful. Repeated stop-go 1st gear traffic is probably one of those. I know I get bored and frustrated with that driving (try crossing Manhattan island twice a day!). I test drove Model S in just that environment, and loved it!
Hands off the wheel between stop lights loved it!
However, driving at highway speeds in low-contrast visual environments (Mobileye relies on visual recognition) - night, dask/dawn, rain, snow, into sunlight - those are probably still ill advised behaviors. I would probably add relying on auto-pilot to save your skin at highway speeds in general.
Driving while watching DVDs will, evidently, kill you, with or without an autopilot.
Shocking, I know.
I half expect to hear that the dude's family went out and filed lawsuit against Warner Bros (Harry Potter's studio).
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