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> "No force was detected on the steering wheel for over two minutes after autosteer was engaged," said Tesla, which added that it can detect even a very small a

> "No force was detected on the steering wheel for over two minutes after autosteer was engaged," said Tesla, which added that it can detect even a very small amount of force, such as one hand resting on the wheel." Why doesn't the "autopilot" turn off if no hands are detected on the wheel?

adt2bt 10y ago
AFAIK it's a 'feature' of Tesla's autopilot vs other competitors which require hands on the wheel.
turbohedgehog 10y ago
Maybe the driver is medically incapacitated?
- kbart 10y ago
  You have to pass a medical examination to get a driving license. Driving while medically incapacitated is irresponsible and illegal the same as driving drunk or on drugs. Unless we have a real self driving car, which Tesla is clearly not.
  - tremon 10y ago
    Driving while medically incapacitated is irresponsible Sane people don't set out to drive while medically incapacitated. That doesn't mean it can't happen while on the road (heart attack, TIA, severe allergic reaction to e.g. a bug).
lucb1e 10y ago
Well the whole autopilot feature is silly if you need to keep your hands on the wheel. Then you might as well steer yourself, or am I missing something? (I don't know details about this feature, I just know it steers automatically on highways.) Until full driver attention is no longer needed, enabling "autopilot" and saying in the manual "PS. you still need to stay as alert as you normally would and keep your hands on the wheel" (i.e. no benefits from having this feature) is just asking for accidents. Imagine, as you suggest, it does turn off when there's no hand on the wheel. People are just going to rest a hand on it and still not pay attention. What's the next step, tracking people's eyes? Or shall we just not enable autopilot in the first place, if it can't do its only job?
- yladiz 10y ago
  The problem is that Autopilot isn't really a self driving system, even it's marketed or popularized as such, so it shouldn't be treated as that kind of system. There are other cars that have the same or analogous technology (Lane Assist) but have much smaller time frames until they require the driver to put their hands on the wheel.
- Corrado 10y ago
  I think the value of "autopilot" for me would come in increased awareness when my attention is fading. When I'm coming home at 2AM from a gig and the road is long, straight, flat, and boring, my attention wanders. Sure, I start out strong, but soon my eyes just don't focus correctly anymore. I roll down the windows and turn up the radio to stay awake but sometimes I don't realize how I got from here to there. That 30 minute trip could end in disaster or, using something like "autopilot", it could end with me pulling into my garage without issue. I tend to think that it will be very useful in these types of situations.
  - studentrob 10y ago
    > Sure, I start out strong, but soon my eyes just don't focus correctly anymore. I roll down the windows and turn up the radio to stay awake but sometimes I don't realize how I got from here to there. I understand what you're saying, and that it is unlikely that something will happen, but Tesla still recommends full attention in this scenario. You need to be fully attentive at all times when driving, even with an assisted driving system. Tesla states this clearly in their manual. If something were to come across the road that the car were not prepared for, it may beep at you, or it may not. This seems to be what happened to the Florida driver. He likely did not think he was abusing the system. He probably crossed that road hundreds of times before on autopilot as part of a commute. And, neither the driver nor the system pushed the brake. If I were you and got into an accident, I know afterwards my brain would search for a reason why this happened and how I can help it not happen again both to me and to others. The solution is to not drive when tired, and to use the system as designed. An additional thing we can do is put in a few measures to check that the driver is still alert, like requiring hands on the wheel at more frequent intervals.

adt2bt 10y ago

AFAIK it's a 'feature' of Tesla's autopilot vs other competitors which require hands on the wheel.

turbohedgehog 10y ago

Maybe the driver is medically incapacitated?

kbart 10y ago
You have to pass a medical examination to get a driving license. Driving while medically incapacitated is irresponsible and illegal the same as driving drunk or on drugs. Unless we have a real self driving car, which Tesla is clearly not.
- tremon 10y ago
  Driving while medically incapacitated is irresponsible Sane people don't set out to drive while medically incapacitated. That doesn't mean it can't happen while on the road (heart attack, TIA, severe allergic reaction to e.g. a bug).

lucb1e 10y ago

Well the whole autopilot feature is silly if you need to keep your hands on the wheel. Then you might as well steer yourself, or am I missing something? (I don't know details about this feature, I just know it steers automatically on highways.) Until full driver attention is no longer needed, enabling "autopilot" and saying in the manual "PS. you still need to stay as alert as you normally would and keep your hands on the wheel" (i.e. no benefits from having this feature) is just asking for accidents. Imagine, as you suggest, it does turn off when there's no hand on the wheel. People are just going to rest a hand on it and still not pay attention. What's the next step, tracking people's eyes? Or shall we just not enable autopilot in the first place, if it can't do its only job?

yladiz 10y ago
The problem is that Autopilot isn't really a self driving system, even it's marketed or popularized as such, so it shouldn't be treated as that kind of system. There are other cars that have the same or analogous technology (Lane Assist) but have much smaller time frames until they require the driver to put their hands on the wheel.
Corrado 10y ago
I think the value of "autopilot" for me would come in increased awareness when my attention is fading. When I'm coming home at 2AM from a gig and the road is long, straight, flat, and boring, my attention wanders. Sure, I start out strong, but soon my eyes just don't focus correctly anymore. I roll down the windows and turn up the radio to stay awake but sometimes I don't realize how I got from here to there. That 30 minute trip could end in disaster or, using something like "autopilot", it could end with me pulling into my garage without issue. I tend to think that it will be very useful in these types of situations.
- studentrob 10y ago
  > Sure, I start out strong, but soon my eyes just don't focus correctly anymore. I roll down the windows and turn up the radio to stay awake but sometimes I don't realize how I got from here to there. I understand what you're saying, and that it is unlikely that something will happen, but Tesla still recommends full attention in this scenario. You need to be fully attentive at all times when driving, even with an assisted driving system. Tesla states this clearly in their manual. If something were to come across the road that the car were not prepared for, it may beep at you, or it may not. This seems to be what happened to the Florida driver. He likely did not think he was abusing the system. He probably crossed that road hundreds of times before on autopilot as part of a commute. And, neither the driver nor the system pushed the brake. If I were you and got into an accident, I know afterwards my brain would search for a reason why this happened and how I can help it not happen again both to me and to others. The solution is to not drive when tired, and to use the system as designed. An additional thing we can do is put in a few measures to check that the driver is still alert, like requiring hands on the wheel at more frequent intervals.