CBS This morning runs story on "Autopilot Abuse"

[Branzo90D]

As the folks at Tesla keep saying, it is an autopilot, not an autonomous vehicle. The driver is still responsible to control the vehicle, just as a pilot is in an airplane while it is in autopilot mode. People have and will abuse their driving privileges with or without autopilot. The dumber they are, the harder they try . . .

 

[taurusking]

In the 90s, I worked with someone who commuted 90 miles from a remote town into Austin. He read the newspaper without autopilot every day, except when he was reading a novel. Autopilot maybe encourages this type of behavior, but the people who use it this way are really the same ones who were making poor driving choices before. I'd be surprised if the overall risk has increased with the introduction of AP.

That's an interesting story..hopefully that person did not meet with accident for reckless driving...

My gut feeling is that people will do stupid things regardless of introduction of AP features...but may be AP is pushing some people to do it.

 

[ohmman]

This seems on-topic for this thread:

 

[Caligula]

I agree. I know it is very cool but at the end of the day it is like that lady who took video of herself while drunk driving a few weeks back and got arrested after she put it on YouTube. It is still not technically legal in most states to take your hands off the wheel of the car as I understand it. So why publish the fact that you did it? Still, it is very cool... if I were to do it. :wink:

Point of note; she was live streaming on Periscope, and was tracked/arrested in real time. It would be impossible to charge someone with DUI after the fact, as they need to physically prove she was drunk at the time, and not just pretending.

Just file this under idiots doing idiot things because they're idiots.

 

[CHG-ON]

There is no shortage of morons in our country. Never underestimate the ignorance of the American people.

Unfortunate.

 

[Caligula]

There is no shortage of morons in our country. Never underestimate the ignorance of the American people.

Unfortunate.

Sadly for Humanity as a whole, this is in no way limited to the American public.