Driver Arrested For Sleeping While Tesla Was On Autopilot At 140 kmph
- Tesla driver was sleeping while the car was self driven
- Many twitter users believed it was a prank
- Tesla doesn't allow drivers to use its car without intervention
A Tesla driver in Alberta, Canada was arrested for sleeping while the car was cruising at 140 kmph on the Autopilot. "Alberta RCMP received a complaint of a car speeding on Highway 2 near Ponoka. The car appeared to be self-driving, travelling over 140 km/h with both front seats completely reclined & occupants appeared to be asleep," posted the official RCMP twitter account.
undefinedAlberta RCMP received a complaint of a car speeding on Hwy 2 near #Ponoka. The car appeared to be self-driving, travelling over 140 km/h with both front seats completely reclined & occupants appeared to be asleep. The driver received a Dangerous Driving charge & summons for court pic.twitter.com/tr0RohJDH1
— RCMP Alberta (@RCMPAlberta) September 17, 2020
"The driver received a Dangerous Driving charge & summons for court," tweeted the RCMP. In a more detailed report on its own website, it was revealed that the driver was a 20-year old whose license was suspended for fatigue. "Although manufacturers of new vehicles have built-in safeguards to prevent drivers from taking advantage of the new safety systems in vehicles, those systems are just that - supplemental safety systems," Superintendent Gary Graham of Alberta RCMP Traffic Services stated in the RCMP report. It also noted that Tesla's didn't come equipped with self-driving systems and onus is still on the driver to drive the car.
Tesla itself doesn't allow its users to implement the Autopilot feature for full autonomous use. It also adds a number of safeguards such as reminders and requires the driver's hand on the steering wheel frequently for staying enabled. That being said, many users have proven the ability to manipulate the system and the same has been pointed out by many on Twitter who noted that this was probably a prank.
This comes at the backdrop of Tesla's founder claiming that a big update for its autonomous capabilities is in the works thanks to the neural network it is running on the DOJO supercomputer. The latest Tesla's run its FSD chips for its autopilot capability while the older ones are based on Nvidia's semiconductors. Next week, Tesla is also slated to announce some big updates related to its battery tech at its battery day event.
Sahil or Bones, as he is known to everyone, is a heady cocktail of work and play. While most people know him for the gadgets he is always reviewing during the day, by night he’s a music buff and will often be found covering the best gig in town. Even with the shutters down, he will be using the same tech gadgets to chronicle the night. That’s what Bones is all about because work equals to play for him and play turns into work. And now at carandbike, his toys are just getting bigger. Other than this he can be found in his basement playing with his 11 dogs, recording or writing something about tech while watching an episode of Star Trek. Or just blasting some progressive metal while doing all of the above.
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