Newsflash: People are idiots.
Tesla’s Autopilot software is an early example of technology that will soon be widely available in the United States and elsewhere. And despite a recent widely publicized fatal crash involving a man who was allegedly watching a movie when his Model S struck a tractor-trailer at speeds approaching 90MPH, autonomous driving technology has already been shown to be far safer than human drivers, even in its infancy. Prior to that crash, Teslas around the world had logged more than 130 million miles without a fatal accident.
But as we mentioned, this technology is still in its infancy and drivers should always keep their attention on the road, even while Autopilot is engaged. It’s common sense, but as the video below reminds us, not everyone has common sense.
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Inside Edition recently put together a quick two-minute segment on Tesla’s Autopilot feature, but not from a technical standpoint. Instead, following the fatal accident in which Model S owner Joshua Brown was killed, the show dug around YouTube and compiled various videos showing irresponsible Tesla owners intentionally averting their attention while Autopilot is engaged.
Some people played games while driving. Other people pretended to sleep. One moron thought it would be a good idea to climb into the passenger seat and leave the driver’s seat empty while Autopilot drove his car down the highway at about 70MPH. The proud future Darwin Awards candidate was even interviewed by Inside Edition. “Yeah it’s a little dangerous but I have a lot of faith in [Tesla’s] Autopilot system,” the man said. “Despite it being in the beta stage, it was pretty safe and secure.”
Inside Edition’s video is embedded below.
