You might have heard recently that Tesla rolled out a software update for its Model S which brought new self-driving features to the car, the features are collectively called the Autopilot mode, and it adds things like automatic lane changing, radar-based cruise control and much more. The car can basically drive itself where you’d normally have cruise control switched on, but since the features essentially allow hands-free driving, some people are being quite careless with it on the road.
It didn’t take long for some Model S owners to upload videos in which they show off the Autopilot mode for Model S mostly because there’s a certain amount of cool factor to it. The feature set is cool but Tesla wants drivers to be careful, it says that the “driver is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the car” and cautions drivers to have their hands on the wheel at all times.
However in almost videos being uploaded on YouTube you see drivers taking their hands off the wheel to demonstrate how the car drives itself. In this particular video you see the driver filming instead of driving and he fails to notice the alarm the car sounds for him to take control, he has to quickly react as the car starts drifting to the left to avoid a possible accident.
A simple search for Autopilot video on YouTube will bring up several results in which drivers are doing almost exactly the same thing, possibly endangering themselves and others.
Even when the Autopilot mode is switched on it constantly reminds the driver to have their hands on the wheel, we’re still not in a world where cars can drive all by themselves, and until we get there it’s best to keep your hands on the wheel and eyes firmly on the road.
Filed in . Read more about Model S, Self Driving Car and Tesla. Source: thenextweb