Cops chase Tesla driver 'dozing' with Autopilot on
- Reference: 1672821251
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/01/04/tesla_driver_slept_as_autopilot/
- Source link:
Traffic officers said they spotted the vehicle as it traveled east on the autobahn from Bamberg to Bayreuth, Germany.
The patrol signaled to the car to stop but [1]according to Bavarian police , the 45-year-old dozing driver failed to respond.
[2]
Police drove with the car for about 15 minutes from the Viereth-Trunstadt junction to the Bamberg-Hafen junction at 110 kilometres per hour (68 MPH). Honking and signal lights failed to get the driver's attention, the cops said.
[3]
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"Officers found that the Tesla driver was reclining in the seat with his eyes closed and his hands off the steering wheel," the police said in their press release, as translated by Google. "This strengthened the suspicion that he had left the controls to the autopilot and had fallen asleep."
Those suspicions were amplified by the way the Tesla tried to maintain its distance from the police.
[5]
The Tesla driver woke up after about 15 minutes, according to police, and proceeded to comply with instructions from officers, who reported that the driver showed signs of being under the influence of an unspecified substance.
Police said they also found a steering wheel weight in the Tesla's footwell. "This device is attached to the steering wheel to trick the vehicle's safety system by pretending that your hand is on the wheel," the translated police statement explains.
Tesla's [6]Autopilot driver assistance system is available in three service tiers: Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self-Driving, a term deemed misleading and disallowed in California as of January 1, 2023, under [7]SB 1398 , signed into law last September.
[8]Tesla driver blames full-self-driving software for eight-car Thanksgiving Day pile up
[9]Tesla reports two more fatal Autopilot accidents to the NHTSA
[10]Tesla reportedly faces criminal probe into self-driving hype
[11]FAA wants pilots to be less dependent on computer autopilots
How this will be enforced given Tesla CEO Elon Musk's past resistance to government demands and court orders is anyone's guess. But Tesla acknowledges at least that "Full Self-Driving" is only partially self-driving on its website: "Autopilot is a hands-on driver assistance system that is intended to be used only with a fully attentive driver. It does not turn a Tesla into a self-driving car nor does it make a car autonomous."
To prevent drivers from taking "Full Self-Driving" or Autopilot's lesser iterations at face value, the electric vehicle maker directs drivers to keep hold of the steering wheel when Autopilot is active.
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And once activated, Autopilot will deliver an escalating series of audiovisual warnings directing drivers to place their hands on the wheel if insufficient torque is detected. The penalty for failing to do so is to be locked out of Autopilot temporarily.
Tesla drivers have attempted to flout the car manufacturer's rules by using steering weights, referred to by the automaker as a "hands-on defeat device," to dupe the sensors used to detect whether the driver is holding the wheel. Consumer Reports published [13]an article and video showing how easy it is to fool Tesla's hands-on sensors back in May, 2021.
Tesla has tried to prevent abuse, most recently with the November 2022 release of Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta v10.69.3.1, which has the ability [14]to detect some Autopilot defeat devices. When the system spots a cheat device, it applies a strike to the Tesla customer's account. With enough strikes – [15]three or five depending upon whether the car has an in-cabin camera – the driver loses access to the Full-Self Driving beta test.
The US Department of Justice [16]reportedly opened a criminal investigation into Tesla and its self-driving technology back in October. It's not yet known whether the investigation will lead to any charges against the company, currently dealing with a share price [17]decline of 65 percent in 2022 – attributed in part to Elon Musk's [18]social media antics – and [19]less-than-anticipated deliveries .
The allegedly dozing driver in Germany is also under a criminal investigation for endangering road traffic and has had to surrender his driver's license until the case is resolved. ®
PS: Autopilot [20]may slow down if it detects emergency vehicles, in the right conditions.
Get our [21]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.polizei.bayern.de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/041271/index.html
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y7VcTOZp0DIfHGWv69B1EwAAAA0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y7VcTOZp0DIfHGWv69B1EwAAAA0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y7VcTOZp0DIfHGWv69B1EwAAAA0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y7VcTOZp0DIfHGWv69B1EwAAAA0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.tesla.com/en_eu/support/autopilot
[7] https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1398
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/23/tesla_driver_software_crash/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/16/tesla_nhtsa_report/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/27/doj_self_driving_car_criminal/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/23/faa_pilot_computer/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y7VcTOZp0DIfHGWv69B1EwAAAA0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.consumerreports.org/autonomous-driving/cr-engineers-show-tesla-will-drive-with-no-one-in-drivers-seat/
[14] https://twitter.com/teslascope/status/1595953734768791553
[15] https://www.notateslaapp.com/news/938/tesla-resets-strikes-with-fsd-beta-10-69-1
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/27/doj_self_driving_car_criminal/
[17] https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-stock-is-headed-for-its-biggest-ever-annual-decline-11672374248
[18] https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/business/tesla-stock-downgrade/index.html
[19] https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/02/tesla-tsla-q4-2022-vehicle-delivery-and-production-numbers.html
[20] https://electrek.co/2021/09/22/tesla-autopilot-can-detects-slows-down-emergency-vehicles-lights-night/
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
I'm inclined to believe that all the hype is from Musk and his minions are being beaten into submission.
The beatings will continue until morale had improved...
Thumbs up for “mouthy flim flam man”
Speaking of which, I saw Glass Onion at the weekend. The Ed Norton character seemed very familiar. A fun film which could very well have been a biopic of Elon Musk.
I don't know anything about space rockets, so to listen to Elon Musk speak about them, I think he's a genius.
I don't know anything about electric cars, so to listen to Elon Musk speak about them, I think he's a genius.
I do know at least something about tech stacks, website coding and web hosting servers, so when I listen to Elon Musk speak about them, I realise he's a freaking charlatan.
As a result, I now have zero faith in his space rockets or electric cars.
I think Elon Musk is the American's Stephen Fry. The idiot's idea of a smart guy.
At least Stephen Fry has a [1]decent sense of humour and can handle satire..
[1] https://youtu.be/626ExQ_xLS0
Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot, and Full Self-Driving
Tesla should have been slapped down at the first outlandish lie, not allowed to carry on regardless with two more.
Shirley?
Assuming Autopilot was engaged, wouldn't the Tesla have come to a standstill if the Police had got in front of it and then decelerated to a standstill?
Re: Shirley?
The [1]evidence suggests otherwise.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-identifies-12th-tesla-assisted-systems-car-crash-involving-emergency-vehicle-2021-09-01/
Re: Shirley?
Teslas on autopilot are programmed to ignore stationary objects - so they run into parked emergency vehicles or barriers between the carriageway and a slip road if the lane marking are worn.
If a police car were to get in front and then slow down then it might work - OR the Tesla might just pull out to overtake.
Re: Shirley?
Don't even know if this was attempted.
Emotional Teslas?
Is it possible we've underestimated the level of the emotion that Tesla AIs have evolved?
Kitty, The Forsaken Tesla: You never hold me any more! You just get drunk and think you can jump on board for a quick ride! But you just fall asleep straight away...! Well, I'll show you. Once you pass out I'm taking you for a ride you won't forget in a hurry, let's just say you'll be... auto banned! **maniacal girlie-giggles**
Tesla has a few things to learn about sending whether the driver is functioning from the railway industry.
Train drivers can often be seen carrying a large bag with a shoulder strap. Inside are a couple of weighty tomes that detail for each possible type of accident who is to blame.
The dead man lever on some trains has such a strong spring that it is impractical to keep it held down for anything like a full shift.
It is possible these statements are in some way related.
It has to be far easier to monitor the driver than all the other road users so why isn't this a legal requirement?
If the "AI" can spot a cyclist or someone lying in the road then why can't it tell that the driver is sitting in the correct position with their arms extended and their hands on the wheel. Eye tracking isn't exactly new tech why isn't it being used to tell that the driver is awake and paying attention? If you say it's coz of "shades man" then I'm sure they could sell a range of suitably logo'd Tesla shades with built in sensors and eye tracking.
I remember the good old days when falling asleep at the wheel virtually guaranteed a severe accident.
The bad news for Musk and his minions just keeps on a' coming. That's what happens when it is eventually exposed that you're nothing more than an egotistical and mouthy flim-flam man who doesn't pay his bills...