Model 3 Interior Camera - A Witness for the Prosecution

[MotoEvCA]

There used to be an assumption / best practice that the user configures the car BEFORE they start driving (set your temperature, adjust your seat, set your audio, etc.). We have more distracted driving because drivers want to multi-task - BY DEFAULT.

See that interior facing camera in the Model 3? Who will own the video captures from it when it is enabled?

We have seen a few recent Model 3 accidents and it raises an interesting question, beyond the autonomous driving uses of the camera, who owns the video captures from it and could Tesla be compelled to turn it over in an accident / civil litigation?.

The answer is YES (based on current policy) unless you don't provide consent explicitly. Don't provide consent; you may lose autonomous functionality.

Distracted driving is a problem and having a camera capturing your behavior behind the wheel could turn out to be a double-edged sword.

Tesla Data Management Policy

Tesla does not disclose the data recorded in your vehicle to any third party except when:
• An agreement or consent from the vehicle’s owner (or the leasing company for a leased vehicle) is obtained.
• Officially requested by the police or other authorities.
• Used as a defense for Tesla in a lawsuit.
• Ordered by a court of law.
• Used for research purposes without disclosing details of the vehicle owner or identication information.
• Disclosed to a Tesla a listed company, including their successors or assigns, or our information systems and data management providers.

In addition, Tesla does not disclose the data recorded to an owner unless it pertains to a non-warranty repair service and in this case, will disclose only the data that is related to the repair.
Quality​

 

[kbecks13]

Yea this is why many of us are choosing to cover it

 

[ölbrenner]

Put a piece of tape over it. If you later find you want to use autonomous capability, and the camera is needed to access it, uncover it. You can no longer be a distracted driver at this point.

 

[Msjulie]

I'm told it's required for autopilot - no more oranges on steering wheels or some such I think I will cover mine... no AP, at least not now.

 

[iluvmacs]

I love how the immediate response is "I'm gonna continue being unsafe while driving and make sure nobody can prove it"

 

[Twiglett]

so basically what is being said here is that if you have a wreck and it’s your fault for being distracted, you don’t want there to be proof of that fact.
Nice

 

[Msjulie]

I love how the immediate response is "I'm gonna continue being unsafe while driving and make sure nobody can prove it"

Well not me - old school both hands on the wheel type here.. it's just too weird to have the camera looking down at the occupants, reasons or not...

 

[Moderatefan]

Remember the whole driverless taxi fleet goal? And you may opt to send your car into the pool to earn you money when not using it?
The camera would be very helpful then in case you discover any damage. Plus it's a protection for occupants in case there's more than one and something inappropriate happens. Too bad its so easy to disable it beforehand, so not sure as to usefulness. Maybe if no feed is detected in the taxi mode, the car should stop and demand the camera fixed

 

[gregincal]

Remember the whole driverless taxi fleet goal? And you may opt to send your car into the pool to earn you money when not using it?
The camera would be very helpful then in case you discover any damage. Plus it's a protection for occupants in case there's more than one and something inappropriate happens. Too bad its so easy to disable it beforehand, so not sure as to usefulness. Maybe if no feed is detected in the taxi mode, the car should stop and demand the camera fixed

I'm pretty sure if any of the cameras are not operable in the imaginary future taxi mode it would refuse to drive. People could always call another taxi.

 

[MotoEvCA]

Federal governments have decades of experience and data on distracted driving as it impacts public transport (planes, buses, and trains). These drivers have been monitored for decades As approval for Level 3 /4 autonomy is sought, the regulators are going to want to see data for the person behind the wheel (i.e. the camera).

If drivers are as distracted as many of us already know, I could only see higher levels of autonomy approved only if the driver is monitored by cameras, sensors, and e-logs.

Follow the Money
It may not be so apparent in 2018 but you can see autonomy taking tons of folks out of vehicles (not by their choice). It is easy to see insurance companies (in hopes to contain costs and legally denying insurance coverage) push for e-monitoring devices be required for all road vehicles.

Time marker 2:23

• The guy in the video is naïve, The groundwork is being set to not pay truckers a fair wage. They will be automated out of their jobs over time
• Tesla will attempt to grab that market share of fewer approved drivers with the help of government regulation and depress truck driver wages for those who remain
• If e-monitoring takes hold, 10 -20 years from now many drivers may get priced out of the vehicle insurance market and may have no choice but to use a semi/self-driving vehicle to get reasonable insurance

It will be these actions that will drive greater vehicle autonomous driving

 

[J1mbo]

There used to be an assumption / best practice that the user configures the car BEFORE they start driving (set your temperature, adjust your seat, set your audio, etc.). We have more distracted driving because drivers want to multi-task - BY DEFAULT.

See that interior facing camera in the Model 3? Who will own the video captures from it when it is enabled?

We have seen a few recent Model 3 accidents and it raises an interesting question, beyond the autonomous driving uses of the camera, who owns the video captures from it and could Tesla be compelled to turn it over in an accident / civil litigation?.

The answer is YES (based on current policy) unless you don't provide consent explicitly. Don't provide consent; you may lose autonomous functionality.

Distracted driving is a problem and having a camera capturing your behavior behind the wheel could turn out to be a double-edged sword.

Tesla Data Management Policy

Tesla does not disclose the data recorded in your vehicle to any third party except when:
• An agreement or consent from the vehicle’s owner (or the leasing company for a leased vehicle) is obtained.
• Officially requested by the police or other authorities.
• Used as a defense for Tesla in a lawsuit.
• Ordered by a court of law.
• Used for research purposes without disclosing details of the vehicle owner or identication information.
• Disclosed to a Tesla a listed company, including their successors or assigns, or our information systems and data management providers.

In addition, Tesla does not disclose the data recorded to an owner unless it pertains to a non-warranty repair service and in this case, will disclose only the data that is related to the repair.
Quality​

It could also be used to prove your innocence.

Great use of formatting btw. We don't get enough of this on TMC for some reason.

 

[insaneoctane]

Simple question for the wholier than thou folks.... What is the current advantage to the driver for allowing themselves to be recorded?

 

[Bad Horse]

Simple question for the wholier than thou folks.... What is the current advantage to the driver for allowing themselves to be recorded?

I'm going to go off the reservation a bit a say it'll allow for easy access for you to be recorded making awesome faces while driving similar to Jeremy Clarkson's stunt video in The Grand Tour (which I thought was one of the funniest 20 or so minutes of the show so far).

 

[MotoEvCA]

It could also be used to prove your innocence.

Great use of formatting btw. We don't get enough of this on TMC for some reason.

Sadly, many people do not fully read a post or have strong comprehension skills. They only read the bullets / highlights. Just trying to accommodate all comprehension levels.

 

[Icer]

Simple question for the wholier than thou folks.... What is the current advantage to the driver for allowing themselves to be recorded?

OT but related
This is a great general question. I shake my head, as I just say no.
All these data deals everyone makes out except us,
and we have neither control nor choice, nor access to the data.

Google/Facebook/Alexa etc, to something nobody really considers
modern cable digital boxes. These supply a precise record ofviewing habits,
down to the moment we change the channel, etc.
In this case we are charged extra for the 'upgrade" to a digital box
that provides the Big Data income stream.

Car companies are anticipating income from a lot of sell-able data, that they get for free.
or rather, we have paid extra for in the form of a Data Plan or something.

We need for some sort of freedom of information act, for the people.
freedom to "opt out", justs say no and access exactly what has been collected.

Free Access Act.
Needs a snappy name.
*

On the horizon: Pop up ads on the car's vid screen,
"Whoa dude...
You just drove past McBurgerLand!
come back in within the next 15 minutes
and get free fries with your order...

...But tell your GF she has to put her shirt on before coming in"

See you soon!

 

[trm2]

Sadly, many people do not read or have comprehension skills.

There, fixed your post for you!

 

[Barklikeadog]

Ugh do not like this at all. One thing that has always bothered me about Tesla is the release of information.
I understand they want to defend their reputation, but the actions of a driver should never be made public.

Fix my memory if I have this wrong, but I remember the guy who accidentally summoned his car which drove into
the back of a semi trailer. Driver says it is a software fault, blames Tesla. Tesla releases the second by second data
on the driver: at X:XXpm driver stopped, 1 second later triggered summon, 2 seconds later opened door, 1 second later....

Is there something Tesla owners sign off on that allows this personal information to become public?

 

[gregincal]

Sadly, many people do not fully read a post or have strong comprehension skills. They only read the bullets / highlights. Just trying to accommodate all comprehension levels.

Actually, it caused me to pretty much skip your entire posts as gobbledegook, since that's what it looks like. I automatically subtract about 50 IQ points in my head in my estimation of people who post like that. I only kept looking at the thread to see how people would respond.

 

[gregincal]

Simple question for the wholier than thou folks.... What is the current advantage to the driver for allowing themselves to be recorded?

Currently the camera is deactivated, so it's a moot point. Since we don't know what it might be used for we have no idea if there will be an advantage or whether it will ever record anything.

 

[MotoEvCA]

Ugh do not like this at all. One thing that has always bothered me about Tesla is the release of information.
I understand they want to defend their reputation, but the actions of a driver should never be made public.

Fix my memory if I have this wrong, but I remember the guy who accidentally summoned his car which drove into
the back of a semi trailer. Driver says it is a software fault, blames Tesla. Tesla releases the second by second data
on the driver: at X:XXpm driver stopped, 1 second later triggered summon, 2 seconds later opened door, 1 second later....

Is there something Tesla owners sign off on that allows this personal information to become public?

Tesla Legal Language

Tesla Telematics Opt Out

Tesla Video Collection

Tesla claims video data collected is anonymized (individual owner data stripped) however, if Tesla is being sued for a failing vehicle component does anyone doubt Tesla will not be able to tie the video of a vehicle crash to the specific car and event?