3 ms·

If you're fiddling with the radio dial or anything else and not looking at the road should the car maker also be held accountable? No. Adults should be held ac

If you're fiddling with the radio dial or anything else and not looking at the road should the car maker also be held accountable? No. Adults should be held accountable for their actions. It's not hard to pay attention to the road. - edit - To below, please don't quote out of context and put words into my mouth. Answer the question whether or not a manufacturer should be held accountable if a driver is fiddling with the radio dial and strikes another car or pedestrian. Maybe it's just HN, but everyone seems to want an authoritarian lawsuit-happy nanny-state these days. Sad times.

nosianu 5y ago
> Adults should be held accountable for their actions. Great, we agree! Tesla and its managers and owners should be held liable then for adding distractions. Because humans are not being rational computers, but biological beings that very much react to incentives. Also see "dark patterns" and "marketing", all the many ways to trick human brains often into doing things against their own rational interest (like spending money they don't have for things they don't need). That only the final person doing something is 100% responsible for all their actions only works for humans with no history and living in an isolation chamber. I know that that could raise the made-up counter-argument "nobody is accountable for their actions", but acknowledging what is does not prevent society from judging actions. You can do both, judge individual actions but also recognize that incentives and the bigger picture matters. You can punish individual actions such as murderer (random example) and still do something to lower the rate at which they occur. So anyone getting distracted sure can be held accountable - but we can also do something in advance that the number of such cases is lowered.
givemeethekeys 5y ago
One can adjust a radio before they start driving. After that, there are volume controls and other physical controls available for adjustments without taking one's eyes off the road. Videogames on the other hand require the driver's complete attention while the car is still moving. If a manufacturer installs video games for the driver to be able to play while they're driving, then yes, they should be held liable for any accidents caused due to playing video games while driving. You don't need a "nanny state" law to specifically outlaw something to find someone liable. Existing laws are sufficient and a civil lawsuit will do plenty of damage. I bet if someone dies because of distracted driving due to playing a Tesla videogame, a software update will roll out the very next day.
- hunterb123 5y ago
  The video game isn't for the driver, it's for the passenger. One can play the video game before they start driving. One could also fiddle with the radio knob while they are driving and kill someone. Just as one could play a video game on their phone or this screen while they are driving and kill someone. The common denominator is the person not paying attention to the road, punish that person. If I watch porn while driving and kill someone I don't expect people to blame the porn industry for their enticing addictive content, I expect them to blame me. Personal responsibility, don't be a child, be an adult and take responsibility for your actions. But Elon bad, so we're having this very very stupid conversation.
  - givemeethekeys 5y ago
    They only get one screen in the Tesla. If it was a separate screen for the passengers to be gaming in. But Elon cheap, so we're having this stupid conversation.

nosianu 5y ago

> Adults should be held accountable for their actions. Great, we agree! Tesla and its managers and owners should be held liable then for adding distractions. Because humans are not being rational computers, but biological beings that very much react to incentives. Also see "dark patterns" and "marketing", all the many ways to trick human brains often into doing things against their own rational interest (like spending money they don't have for things they don't need). That only the final person doing something is 100% responsible for all their actions only works for humans with no history and living in an isolation chamber. I know that that could raise the made-up counter-argument "nobody is accountable for their actions", but acknowledging what is does not prevent society from judging actions. You can do both, judge individual actions but also recognize that incentives and the bigger picture matters. You can punish individual actions such as murderer (random example) and still do something to lower the rate at which they occur. So anyone getting distracted sure can be held accountable - but we can also do something in advance that the number of such cases is lowered.

givemeethekeys 5y ago

One can adjust a radio before they start driving. After that, there are volume controls and other physical controls available for adjustments without taking one's eyes off the road. Videogames on the other hand require the driver's complete attention while the car is still moving. If a manufacturer installs video games for the driver to be able to play while they're driving, then yes, they should be held liable for any accidents caused due to playing video games while driving. You don't need a "nanny state" law to specifically outlaw something to find someone liable. Existing laws are sufficient and a civil lawsuit will do plenty of damage. I bet if someone dies because of distracted driving due to playing a Tesla videogame, a software update will roll out the very next day.

hunterb123 5y ago
The video game isn't for the driver, it's for the passenger. One can play the video game before they start driving. One could also fiddle with the radio knob while they are driving and kill someone. Just as one could play a video game on their phone or this screen while they are driving and kill someone. The common denominator is the person not paying attention to the road, punish that person. If I watch porn while driving and kill someone I don't expect people to blame the porn industry for their enticing addictive content, I expect them to blame me. Personal responsibility, don't be a child, be an adult and take responsibility for your actions. But Elon bad, so we're having this very very stupid conversation.
- givemeethekeys 5y ago
  They only get one screen in the Tesla. If it was a separate screen for the passengers to be gaming in. But Elon cheap, so we're having this stupid conversation.