This might be the first time we come across this kind of story but we’re certain this isn’t the first such incident. Nor, we’re convinced, will it be the last…
A little over a week ago, a Tesla owner was found passed-out at the wheel of his car on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the California Highway Patrol. When awoken from his slumber by the officer, the “driver” said that everything was “ok” as he’d engaged Tesla’s Autopilot. If anything, Autopilot likely saved the man’s life and prevented an accident.
The man was immediately arrested as it is still illegal to get behind the wheel of a car while under the influence.
Although this story ended well, it serves to demonstrate that many car owners might be getting the wrong idea about these driver assistance features. Although they boast driverless abilities, they are not fully autonomous. At least not yet.
We sense amendments to highway safety codes all across the world coming soon, if not already in the works…
[…] cars may not be all that autonomous. We’ve debated the pros and cons and expectations of autonomous car technology internally for a long while and the one thing that we always agree upon is timelines. No matter how […]