Model S driver filmed sleeping in traffic!! Calling All Forum Safety Nannies!!

[Canuck]

The next question becomes is it going to be configurable. There are going to be people who will never fall asleep while using AP and they would not appreciate an annoyingly loud warning. Owners are not a homogeneous group and some will feel a louder warning is a significant negative.

I don't see that as the next question, or even a question at all, since people like you respond to the nags so you'll never hear the loud warning signal.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I don't see that as the next question, or even a question at all, since people like you respond to the nags so you'll never hear the loud warning signal.

I didn't really follow the original post, but my impression was the volume of warning sounds will be increased across the board, including the first hands on warning (which I believe some people argued for in other threads). If it's progressive then that is different.

 

[Mike K]

I don't know about that. Maybe without autopilot, and driving yourself, you are less prone to fall asleep?

Perhaps, yes. I think that's a point I even made.

I doubt it saved his life.

Do me a solid. Go out in one of your other non-autopilot equipped cars, hop on the expressway, turn on your radar cruise control and close your eyes for a full minute. Report back with your findings. All things equal, falling asleep on the expressway in a Tesla with AutiPilot enabled is like a billion times safer than falling asleep in any other car, even if it's slowly going to park you in the middle of an expressway and stick your hazards on. Science.

There's a big difference between driving yourself and having AP activated. To suggest he would have fallen asleep if he was not on AP is too big a stretch for me.

Yes, because nobody in the history of the world has ever fallen asleep behind the wheel of a car. It's not like that's something that happens literally every day. Come on man.

You realize you don't have to double down on these absurdities for us to agree that an alarm would be a good addition right? I disagree with your arguments but totally agree with your conclusion. An alarm would be a spectacular idea.

 

[Canuck]

I didn't really follow the original post, but my impression was the volume of warning sounds will be increased across the board, including the first hands on warning (which I believe some people argued for in other threads). If it's progressive then that is different.

He said this:

If I was in his situation, I honestly think the car should make a very louder than normal alarm as the car is performing to slow down.

So all the nags are over and the car is slowing down, and it stopped on the roadway. If it did have a really loud signal at this time, or gave you a jolt of electrons in the ass, would you still turn it off?

Do me a solid. Go out in one of your other non-autopilot equipped cars, hop on the expressway, turn on your radar cruise control and close your eyes for a minute. Report back with your findings.

I'm assuming Tesla's AP is more prone to lull you to sleep than driving yourself. I don't think it's a stretch to assume that if he was driving, he would be performing many more mental and physical tasks, and thus he may not have fallen asleep. But this issue is really irrelevant to the conversation which is: I would want both AP and non-AP cars to have a loud warning signal when it senses the driver is asleep. The only cars that can do that, however, are AP cars since it requires you to fail to respond to nags to get the point of having to wake you up.

It's amazing to me how defensive people get of Tesla's AP when someone (not me) just made a simple suggestion to make it even better, that I agree with.

 

[Mike K]

I'm not defensive about the system at all. That's the thing. I just think a few of the arguments you made were silly and not entirely based in reality. I happen to agree about the alarm. Maybe I'll pay for banner space on the site telling people that I think the alarm is a good idea so people stop responding to me as if I continue to make the argument that it's not. Apparently all these times wasn't good enough...

I do have a slight fear that Autopilot might actually encourage driver fatigue though. So in that respect I think a startling alarm is actually good idea.

I totally agree on the alarm. I don't know how to be more clear about that.

An alarm would be a spectacular idea.

 

[Canuck]

After he asked for the louder alarm, you posted this:

I am amazed that after that scenario your takeaway was that the car could have done a better job of protecting your friend from himself. I mean wow. What would have happened if he was driving any other car and dosed off? Would it have pulled over for him and put on the emergency lights? Yet your complaint seems to be that the car didn't do a good enough job of saving his ass. I can't wrap my head around that. Did I just misunderstand you?

I guess you did just misunderstand him because all he was asking for was an louder alarm and now you agree.

I just think a few of the arguments you made were silly and not entirely based in reality.

I agree with regard to the one about the car sensing you're asleep and driving you, and checking you into the nearest hotel. It was meant to be silly. But the only other argument I made was for a loud alarm. What are the silly and non-reality based ones you are referring to?