
Sleeping Tesla driver ploughed into 11 traffic cones on a motorway - kamiYcombi
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/07/26/tesla_driver_autopilot_motorway_idiocy/
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caymanjim
What is the legitimate use of Tesla's self-driving function? You're not
legally allowed to drive without being in control of your vehicle. Tesla says
you're supposed to remain aware and in control. You aren't allowed to sit
there eating a sandwich, or take a nap, or deal with the baby in the back
seat. Yes, people drive distracted all the time, but encouraging them to do so
isn't a good idea, and doesn't make it legal or remove personal liability. Any
argument that people do these things anyway (well, not nap normally) is going
to be offset by the fact that autopilot encourages and increases these
behaviors.

I love the idea of self-driving vehicles, and when it's good enough, I'd trust
it more than I'd trust most drivers (but of course not more than I'd trust
myself, hypocrite that I am). We're not there yet, though, so I again ask what
the legitimate use of it is.

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getpolarized
This is why I didn't buy a Tesla... It's half pregnant basically.

My 2019 Mazda 6 has adaptive cruise control and I think this gives you 80% of
the features set for 1/3rd of the price.

FSD would allow you to only supervise which is definitely a lot LESS work.

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atonse
I've gone on a 4 hour road trip (all on a major US highway) where I actually
drove for maybe 30 mins total. The car drove flawlessly on the highway. For
these situations, it is a perfect use case to help with the monotony of
highway driving.

Yes I had to stay alert, but I could also relax a bit and look around every
now and then, chuckle at a billboard, or pass some food back to my kid, which
I can't if I'm driving.

~~~
thebruce87m
The software engineer that died when his Tesla hit a barrier only had a 4
second window to react [1]. Hope you’re not looking away for too long.

[1] [https://www.zdnet.com/article/ntsbs-tesla-fatal-crash-
report...](https://www.zdnet.com/article/ntsbs-tesla-fatal-crash-report-
autopilot-sped-up-no-braking-in-final-seconds/)

~~~
atonse
Yeah like I tell my relatives and friends, "I'm a software guy which is
exactly why I don't fully trust this thing. I know my people and know exactly
how the sausage is made."

I only use autopilot on a sunny day, with less traffic (if going full speed,
or in a traffic jam where you're going 10 mph) and only if the lines are very
obvious.

Anything away from that happy path, I'm manually driving.

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atonse
My Tesla asks me every single minute to shake the steering wheel while on
Autopilot. Are you telling me the guy fell asleep between one of those? Maybe,
anything is possible.

Also we go through this every single time. Journalists often insist that
Autopilot is a misleading name, when it is a PERFECT name for the feature. It
is exactly like Autopilot on an aircraft.

Autopilot on an aircraft doesn't absolve the pilots from being at the wheel
(yoke), nor does it automatically take off or land a plane. It is literally
"I'll follow this heading and altitude until you tell me otherwise, and will
make glide path and heading corrections as needed", which is EXACTLY what
Tesla's Autopilot feature does. There are other warning systems for air
collisions, etc.

Tesla has a name for their autonomous driving – it's called Full Self Driving.
And it isn't out yet, to anyone.

The media needs to do a better job of not misunderstanding this feature, and
better educating the public instead of just writing sensationalist articles.

~~~
positr0n
Ask the average person not interested in aviation what the autopilot does in
an airplane. They will tell you "automatic pilot. It flies the plane."

Autopilot is technically correct, which is useless unless you are only selling
it to aviation enthusiasts.

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atonse
Which is why I comment that it is the job of the media to properly message
this to the public, instead of hopping on the bandwagon of "The name is
bad!!!"

Isn't that a big part of why the media even exists? To inform the populace?

~~~
bradknowles
So, you create a product. And you choose the name. And you feel like the name
perfectly describes precisely what the product does.

Only problem is, 99% of the public doesn’t understand, and so they keep mis-
using your product. And people keep dying as a result.

How is it the responsibility of the media to fix this problem for you?

Naming is hard, I get that. That’s why it is critical to get it right.

When it comes to products for the average consumer in this world, the name is
the single most important thing that you have to get right. Nothing else
matters if you can’t get the name right.

And in this case, “right” doesn’t mean whatever you want it to. In this case,
“right” is defined by the customers and potential customers.

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Traster
To a certain extent "Car hits traffic cones" isn't really a news story.

I know it's part of a broader conversation about Tesla's bad user experience,
but still, traffic cones.

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jmpman
Makes you wonder if Tesla’s future Full Self Driving feature will handle this
scenario differently.

