Put The Phone Down And Drive

[ReddykwRun]

Patrol: Tesla Autopilot driver was watching movie, crashed

2:20 PM ET, 08/28/2020 - Associated Press

ZEBULON, N.C. (AP) — A Tesla driver, whose car was on Autopilot mode, was watching a movie on his phone when he crashed into a sheriff’s deputy's car, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

A state trooper and a Nash County deputy on Wednesday were on the side of U.S. Highway 64 and responding to a previous crash when the Tesla slammed into the deputy’s cruiser, news outlets reported. The cruiser hit the trooper’s car, pushing the two officers to the ground, the patrol said. No one was hurt.

Authorities have charged Devainder Goli of Raleigh with violating the move-over law and watching television while operating a vehicle. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment.

Tesla's Autopilot system is designed to keep a car in its lane and a safe distance from other vehicles. Autopilot also can change lanes on its own.
Last month, authorities in Arizona said a California man was driving a Tesla in Autopilot mode when it hit a state trooper's SUV on the side of the highway and pushed it into an ambulance.

As of January, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has started investigations into more than a dozen Tesla crashes dating to at least 2016 in which the agency believes Autopilot was operating.

Tesla has said repeatedly that its Autopilot system is designed only to assist drivers, who must still pay attention and be ready to intervene at all times. The company contends that Teslas with Autopilot are safer than vehicles without it, but cautions that the system does not prevent all crashes.

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[Newton]

I said this recently on another thread. But while lane splitting on a motorcycle here in ca, I see way to many tesla drivers staring down at their phone, reading a book, i have seen 2 guys reading and messing with a large unwieldy newspaper.

I get this isn't teslas fault. But the ratio of tesla drivers on autopilot doing it vs normal drivers is pretty redonk, just based on what I have seen.

 

[Akgolf]

Odd.

I’ve seen plenty of Tesla’s and not one of the drivers had their head down. I have seen other cars recently with the drivers otherwise engaged.

 

[Newton]

Odd.

I’ve seen plenty of Tesla’s and not one of the drivers had their head down. I have seen other cars recently with the drivers otherwise engaged.

perhaps Its a case of me paying MORE attention to the teslas. but a guesstimate says about 1 in 30-40 tesla drivers is not fully ingaged while driving. while the other cars it feels more like 1 in 60-70. but I pass by and glance at so many non teslas its hard to quantify the actual numbers. maybe when things start to get back to normal ill start counting.

but one thing I did notice very clearly was the tesla drivers(presumably using autopilot) stared at the phones longer. while the non-tesla drivers do that wierd look up look down thing

 

[Akgolf]

Nope pretty sure I see Most Teslas that go by me. Since I’ve been wanting one since around 2014, I tend to notice them.

Haven't seen one distracted Tesla driver yet.

 

[Crissa]

It's not like humans don't drive into officers all the time.

Like the articles about Tesla fires. EVs catch fire less often than petrol vehicles and yet which get news articles about them catching fire?

No one wrote an article about my neighbor's house buring down because his old car spontaneously erupted in flame...

-Crissa