Self-driving Model S driver caught asleep and drunk by CHP

[voyager]

A Tesla Model S driver was pulled over and arrested by the California Highway Patrol yesterday after the police officers saw him seemingly sleeping at the wheel. It took about 7 minutes and 7 miles for the police to be able to pull the car over, which was allegedly on Autopilot. The driver was arrested for drunk driving.

Tesla driver was pulled over by cops after allegedly sleeping drunk on Autopilot for 7 miles

 

[legend502]

A Tesla Model S driver was pulled over and arrested by the California Highway Patrol yesterday after the police officers saw him seemingly sleeping at the wheel. It took about 7 minutes and 7 miles for the police to be able to pull the car over, which was allegedly on Autopilot. The driver was arrested for drunk driving.

Tesla driver was pulled over by cops after allegedly sleeping drunk on Autopilot for 7 miles

I saw this - how does this even make sense?

 

[SSedan]

Seems like Autopilot saved a life.

Makes perfect sense to me, even when FSD gets here a drunk person should not be in the driver's seat. One tug on the wheel could cause disaster.

 

[legend502]

Seems like Autopilot saved a life.

Makes perfect sense to me, even when FSD gets here a drunk person should not be in the driver's seat. One tug on the wheel could cause disaster.

I didn’t know one could go unresponsive for 7 minutes driving AP - maybe I’m missing something

 

[SSedan]

Probably hung a weight of some sort on the wheel.
There was at least one product specifically sold for this purpose and a bunch of workarounds found.

 

[compu85]

Or the driver passed out with his hand on the wheel.

 

[David29]

On the one hand, this driver benefited from his AutoPilot in the sense that it kept him in a lane and moving along, apparently safely, for some time. And he was fortunate that the trooper knew enough about how AP worked that he could bring the car to a stop without physically interfering (he did not need to ram the car or use tire spikes, etc.). All good. On the other hand, the driver was indeed lucky that the road he was on apparently had good clear uninterrupted lane markings for the whole distance he traveled while asleep. All he'd have needed for a drastically different outcome would be for a gap in lane markings, or a lane drop or merge that his AP could not interpret.
What I cannot decided is whether or not this incident shows the benefit of AP, or the risk. I think it is a bit of both.
I suppose what it shows more than anything else is that impaired drivers make poor decisions.

 

[krsgio]

I mean everyone is leaning toward AP or some sort of defeat but if the road was straight there's the possibility he was just using the adaptive cruise control which makes more sense if it lasted for 7 minutes and auto braked for the vehicles in front.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Car must not have been on version 9, it would have passed him

 

[boonedocks]

I can't keep the nagging nag away with both hands on the wheel for that long on a straightaway without it cancelling. Oh well I guess a drunk hand "appears" more reliable to the AP HW than an attentive driver with both hands on the wheel.

BTW the that thread title "Self-driving Model S driver caught asleep and drunk by CHP" I pre-paid for FSD and still don't have it almost 2 years later.

 

[Az_Rael]

Car must not have been on version 9, it would have passed him

Unconfirmed lane changes hasn't been implemented yet for version 9 (except maybe on early access cars). So unless the car was exiting and he was on NoA, it wouldn't have passed the police car.

In the future it probably would have though.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Unconfirmed lane changes hasn't been implemented yet for version 9 (except maybe on early access cars). So unless the car was exiting and he was on NoA, it wouldn't have passed the police car.

In the future it probably would have though.

Agree but why let facts get in the way

 

[EVDRVN]

I mean everyone is leaning toward AP or some sort of defeat but if the road was straight there's the possibility he was just using the adaptive cruise control which makes more sense if it lasted for 7 minutes and auto braked for the vehicles in front.

Not likely where he was. Plenty of idiots game the AP system and it is very unlikely he drove 7 min on the 101 without drifting significantly.

 

[SSedan]

Probably hung a weight of some sort on the wheel.
There was at least one product specifically sold for this purpose and a bunch of workarounds found.

Would the person who rated this disagree please explain why?