Tesla on Autopilot pulled over with drunk, sleeping driver behind the wheel

georgel

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Well, technically, he wasn't driving...

The California Highway Patrol said officers spotted the Tesla Model S cruising along U.S. 101 in Redwood City at 3:37 a.m. with what appeared to be a dozing driver behind the wheel.

After following the sedan for about seven miles trying to get him to respond to lights and sirens, the officers guessed that the Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot driver assist system was engaged, so they pulled in front of it and started to slow down, according to a police report.

The sedan did the same, and the two vehicles safely came to a complete stop in the middle of the highway. With some difficulty, police roused the driver, who was identified as Los Altos Planning Commission chair Alexander Samek, and drove him and the Tesla to a nearby gas station where he failed a field sobriety test. Samek was booked on a DUI and released later in the day.

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/tesla-...ntcmp=ob_article_footer_text&intcmp=obnetwork
 
If the keys are in the ignition lock and or push to start, and you are in driver seat you are operating the motor vehicle.
 
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That's what these cars are meant for, correct?
Eventually. I know Google's car can handle full autonomy, but I don't know to what degree Tesla's have. I saw an video where a Google autonomous car turned on to a highway and merged with traffic. This is while an interview is being conducted inside the vehicle with the "dirver's" back to the windshield. The drivers/scientists comment was that the car knew more about the surrounding environment than he did. Speed, distance to each car, etc.
 
I'm waiting for the auto-home feature on Elon Musk's roadster to engage from space. :D
 
Can't wait till these auto driving cars are 100% and I cab get wasted every time I leave the house. Or BE wasted I should say.
 
it's like an Uber without the body odor. Where's the victim in this crime?

Oh that's right, like 3 Tesla autonomous cars have crashed in the last few years......verses the completely safe and 100% human piloted alternatives.

"Earlier last week, Tesla announced that its cars had been driven over one billion cumulative miles with Autopilot engaged since it was first offered in 2015"
 
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I don't know anything about autopilot cars, or Telsa, but would it be illegal for an autopilot equipped Tesla to drive down the road with no driver in the seat?

If its legal for the car to drive itself while empty, it should be legal for a drunk person to ride in the car, sleeping inside. If its illegal for the car to travel empty, then the driver should be charged.
 
Will the car find a charging station when it runs low?
 
Correct me if I'm wrong here but Tesla does not yet sell a fully self driving car. As I understand them it's semi-autonomous. It can keep itself on the road but it cannot navigate a route (yet). Which would mean the driver *was * in control at first but was so drunk he passed out on the way... and the car kept going. Then it stopped itself without incident by responding to another vehicle. Pretty damned amazing if you ask me. Just a few years ago we'd be reading about a dead family and wondering how the driver walked away.

And aren't there other cars equipped with this tech? I know my BIL's new Subaru will keep itself between the lines on the highway.
 
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Make sure you line them all up on the LH edge of the rear window so it's the first thing the deputy sees
you mean as they fingerfark the back of the car because 'muh fangerprints means I dun stopped ya'

Cutting Edge tracking technology erased by a trip to the carwash I tell ya!
 
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Correct me if I'm wrong here but Tesla does not yet sell a fully self driving car. As I understand them it's semi-autonomous. It can keep itself on the road but it cannot navigate a route (yet). Which would mean the driver *was * in control at first but was so drunk he passed out on the way... and the car kept going. Then it stopped itself without incident by responding to another vehicle. Pretty damned amazing if you ask me. Just a few years ago we'd be reading about a dead family and wondering how the driver walked away.

And aren't there other cars equipped with this tech? I know my BIL's new Subaru will keep itself between the lines on the highway.

Close friend has one, youre correct.
Essentially, and Ive been in the car when this was going on, in 'autopilot' the driver still needs to have SOME pressure on the steering wheel, input the mph it wants to cruise at etc.
Now, it's a trick system - it'll slow down when cars are ahead, if, in autopilot mode, you press the turn signal one way or the other it'll change lanes IF it's safe (ie, no cars in the way).

So, it's not like the car just goes on it's own etc, there is still driver input needed/required
 
" you press the turn signal one way or the other it'll change lanes IF it's safe (ie, no cars in the way). "

To me this is an answer to a question nobody asked.

Is it really too taxing to move the steering wheel 10 degrees one way or another (as opposed to reaching out to enable the turn signal). Seems like more complex stuff that'll just break.
 
it's like an Uber without the body odor. Where's the victim in this crime?

Oh that's right, like 3 Tesla autonomous cars have crashed in the last few years......verses the completely safe and 100% human piloted alternatives.

"Earlier last week, Tesla announced that its cars had been driven over one billion cumulative miles with Autopilot engaged since it was first offered in 2015"
Yes, autonomous vehicles will prove to be safer vehicles, despite periodic accidents. It's only logical, using this case as an example, that authorities will request emergency override capability for safe shutdown. What if the guy had a medical emergency or heaven forbid there were kids in the car? Or what about pursuits? Overrides, like "Vehicle, secure doors, vehicle proceed to Precinct 32", under authorization B4, Precrime.

 
If the keys are in the ignition lock and or push to start, and you are in driver seat you are operating the motor vehicle.
In many states, one can be passed out in the back seat with the keys in one's pocket and still get busted for DUI because one could still come to and decide to drive while still drunk.
 
Yes, autonomous vehicles will prove to be safer vehicles, despite periodic accidents. It's only logical, using this case as an example, that authorities will request emergency override capability for safe shutdown. What if the guy had a medical emergency or heaven forbid there were kids in the car? Or what about pursuits? Overrides, like "Vehicle, secure doors, vehicle proceed to Precinct 32", under authorization B4, Precrime.



 
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