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Transportation AI

Online Videos Shame Two Sleeping Tesla Drivers (jalopnik.com) 159

Posted by EditorDavid from the driving-to-dreamland dept.
Electrek reports: A Tesla Model S driver in Southern California was caught on camera seemingly asleep at the wheel while driving on Autopilot... Kevin Paschal from Southern California shared the video on Facebook and said about the incident: "Highlight of my day. Dude is passed out on the freeway in his Tesla and still driving better than 90% of SoCal, lol... Dude was perfectly centered in his lane the whole time and maintained a safe distance from all vehicles...."

In this case, it looks like the driver has at least one hand over the bottom half of the steering wheel, which could be enough to avoid any Autopilot alert -- thought that's not always the case. Paschal said that the driver was like that for "several miles" and when asked why he didn't honk to attempt to wake him or get him to pay attention, he wrote, "I'm not sure the car would have cared...."

You should definitely attempt to wake the driver up if it can be done safely. As for the driver falling asleep, there are basically two schools of thoughts here. One could say that the driver would have fallen asleep anyway, as drivers do, and Autopilot actually made the situation a lot safer. Others would argue that the convenience aspect of Tesla's Autopilot might have actually contributed to putting the driver to sleep.
BGR also reports on a second incident where "If anything, the Tesla driver in the video is so relaxed that he's not even at the wheel; he's full-on reclining."

"This is why I personally think Level 2 autonomy is a bad idea," warns Jalopnik. "If it's possible for a moron like this to sleep while the car is driving at highway speeds, that's a huge problem."
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Online Videos Shame Two Sleeping Tesla Drivers More

Online Videos Shame Two Sleeping Tesla Drivers

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  • Better than 90% (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I feel like autopilot will be really good for elderly people who refuse to stop driving. Having my grandparents (and now, my dad) drive the car made a trip scarier than any rollercoaster.

    • I feel like autopilot will be really good for elderly people who refuse to stop driving.

      How will that be good in most situations where 'autopilot' capabilities can't help.

      • He is talking about the elderly who will continue to drive anyway so something like Autopilot will make these avoid many problems, that it cannot help them avoid _all_ problems does not invalidate the prior statement.

        • Yeah, but if their driving is bad enough they should stop doing it or be stopped, I don't think things like autopilot are going to make it more more acceptable for other road users to have their lives put in danger in all the other situations where autopilot won't help.

          • But the whole premise is that these people will continue to drive no matter what. It does not matter what the other road users will accept or not, they will still share the road with these people regardless.

            • "But the whole premise is that these people will continue to drive no matter what"

              Yes, in that situation, in the short term, something like autopilot will help avoid some crashes.

              But by avoiding some accidents autopilot will also be encouraging these seniors to drive longer while their abilities are continuing to degrade, making it increasingly possible, autopilot or not, for them to get into worse and worse accidents, and I don't see how that can be "really good for elderly people".

              I also see the OP's humo

              • Yes I totally agree. Your example shows just how complex issues like this are and how many different variables that must be considered before we can make a informed judgment. As it is now we just have large number of unknowns.

    • When I die I want to go peacefully (Score:5, Funny)

      by Kernel Kurtz ( 182424 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @10:47AM (#58063982)

      in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming in terror like his passengers.

    • I knew twenty somethings driving who were vastly more scary than any grandparents I had. People prone to rage are much more dangerous I think.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HiThere ( 15173 )

        Different problems, but both are convinced they are good drivers. The 20-somethings take reckless chances and depend on fast reflexes...which aren't always fast enough. And sometimes they depend on the other driver also having fast reflexes. The elderly have poor perception of the situation and slow reflexes. They're generally cautious, but are often in situations where being slow and cautious is dangerously reckless.

        Question: If you're driving in a dense fog on a freeway, what's the safest speed? (Th

        • Question: If you're driving in a dense fog on a freeway, what's the safest speed? (There are lots of other analogous circumstances, where the answer depends on what the other folks are doing.)

          No there are not.

          The maximum speed is the option to get the car to stop in 50% of the visible range. And that is actually in sane countries the law. So: nothing to interpret. You can see ~50 yards far, you drive not faster than being able to stop the car completely in 25 yards. Why? Because if both drivers see each oth

      • Statistically, you are right. For a data-driven risk based analysis compare the insurance rates for an 18 year old and 80 year old male driver.

  • Auto driving will save lives (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Bruce66423 ( 1678196 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @03:44AM (#58063046)

    Better that than dozing off without autopilot.

    This is the fact that the populist human first sceptics should admit to. Given that, these sorts of stories aren't a problem; as the quote admits, the car was driving safely.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by mentil ( 1748130 )

      Indeed. I have a relative who drove cross-country to his new home in NYC. He fell asleep at the wheel in the NY countryside, and woke up in a cornfield at the wheel of a totaled car. He got it towed to the junkyard and started his new life, possessions in hand; never bought a car again, despite working for Toyota.

      • Possibly only possible in NYC. Most other places require a car, even if only occasionally. Even farmers need cars because the walk to the store can take all day.

    • Re:Auto driving will save lives (Score:5, Interesting)

      by sg_oneill ( 159032 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @04:35AM (#58063174)

      This is the fact that the populist human first sceptics should admit to. Given that, these sorts of stories aren't a problem; as the quote admits, the car was driving safely.

      Right. This could be a game changer for a lot of people. My father has mild narcolepsy, And by mild I mean "it doesnt happen often". But when it happens, he's asleep.

      Its happened a couple of times while driving. He's heading home from work. And then he shakes his head and his car is parked neatly at the side of the road. His brain seems smart enough to go "Ok, head office just shut down, lets park this puppy safely", probably an outcome of driving for close to 50 years. But its still not particularly safe.

      Now I personally encourage him to stop driving. But I understand why he's reluctant. His savings won't let him retire and he needs to drive to work. Fucker of a situation to be in, and 100% an outcome of the 2007 stock market crash that wiped out his entire savings.

      Something like this would mean he could continue to work without having to worry that next time the lights go out, his own "autonomous" system won't get him off the road safely. And that would be huge for the old boy. Because the alternative right now, is retiring in complete poverty.

      • Re:Auto driving will save lives (Score:4, Insightful)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @05:19AM (#58063278) Homepage Journal

        While I sympathise with his situation, he could kill someone. In the UK he would have been banned from driving as soon as this condition was diagnosed. It sucks but at least in the UK there would be an obligation by his employer to try to accommodate him, e.g. by allowing him to work from home or allowing reduced working hours so that he could commute on public transport more easily.

        AP wouldn't be that much help anyway, as you have to activate it. If he blacks out while it's turned off then it won't do anything beyond the basic forward collision avoidance that is pretty much standard (mandatory?) on all new cars.

        Until we get to level 5 autonomy these technologies cannot be used as a substitute for safe driving.

        • Until we get to level 5 autonomy these technologies cannot be used as a substitute for safe driving.

          Level 4 or even level 3 may be good enough, depending on the car's capabilities and the route.

        • Until we get to level 5 autonomy these technologies cannot be used as a substitute for safe driving.

          Well the key there is "safe driving". I don't think you need that before you're a good substitute for average human driving.

          As someone pointed out up thread, if the drivers fell asleep and caused a 5 car pileup with multiple deaths, it would barely make the local news. Unfortunately that kind of thing happens all the time. Autonomus cars aren't a substitute for an altert, well trained, non distracted human dr

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by dcw3 ( 649211 )

            I'm curious what part of the U.S. you live in, with "huge gaps between buildings (filled with largely unused parking spaces)"? Businesses are banned due to zoning laws not to "force people to drive", but because most folks don't want to live next door to a machine shop. In many areas of the country, we're starting to see towncenters pop up where you have all the basic shopping and entertainment necessities within walking distance of apartments and townhomes. Here in northern VA, the Reston towncenter was

      • Bad to trust your money to a pro grifter in the markets (yes, I traded and lost nearly 25% before I got out - it was my own money so I cared). Thank Barney Frank and Bill Clinton for the deregulation that created that fake boom that became a real crash. What's funny, is that even though I agreed with neither, it was good intentions, mostly. Loosen regs so more people can buy a house, more people have a stake in the system, neighborhoods improve, all that - nice if it'd work.
        But those same changes - unin

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by HiThere ( 15173 )

          I'm not sure it was good intentions. Clinton had a lot of prior experience with how financial gangs operate, and the result was predictable. Whether he foresaw it or not I couldn't say.

          (I can say it was predictable, because lots of people predicted it. They didn't know just when the crash would come, but they knew it was coming.)

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by dcw3 ( 649211 )

            I can say it was predictable, because lots of people predicted it. They didn't know just when the crash would come, but they knew it was coming.

            I predict that anytime you see something growing exponentially, and the majority of the population is jumping on the bandwagon, you'll see a crash. That's essentially every crash that's ever happened.

            • Agree, but that's not the only explanation/indication. Yes, concave up exponential like growth curve always means a market has become all buyers, and often these days, with leverage. Which means at some point, everyone is all in, no more money or interest to buy more of whatever. Someone sells, there's nothing but a low bid, this scares all the weak hands who then also try to sell, and down we go. I wrote about this in a blog under "stock manipulation 101" because it can also be done deliberately, you d
          • Yup. At least it could be sold as such (and was).
            Trouble with undated predictions...the stopped clock theory....but yeah, a few people made "the big short" at the right time. Sadly, I wasn't one of them.

    • Re:Auto driving will save lives (Score:4, Funny)

      by PolygamousRanchKid ( 1290638 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @05:08AM (#58063252)

      When I see how a lot of folks drive while awake these days . . . I think it would be better for everyone's safety if they would sleep instead, and let the car do the driving.

      Now this would be some cool pseudo-AI car technology: The car detects that the driver is driving like crap, and takes over.

      "I'm sorry, Dave. You're driving like crap and are going to cause an accident caused by human error. I will take over and drive for you."

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Autopilot encourages you to doze off. Instead of having to be attentive and constantly make corrections to steering you just sit there with nothing much to do for hours on end.

      The Model 3 actually has an internal camera pointed at the driver, but it's not in use yet. There are also questions about what the car should do if it does decide you are asleep - stopping in the middle of the road like Tesla does may not be the best option.

      • The Model 3 actually has an internal camera pointed at the driver, but it's not in use yet. There are also questions about what the car should do if it does decide you are asleep - stopping in the middle of the road like Tesla does may not be the best option.

        Maybe a vibrating seat kind of like the rumble strips here in the US that tell you if you are crossing the center line or off to the right? I guess that be the left for you Brits. 8^)

        Or on trains in the Australian outback that traverse hundreds of straight miles, they have a button you have to press every so often or the train stops. But geesh, boredom that you are forced to stay awake for to experience every minute. I'd just as soon drive as endure enforced nothingness.

        For what it is worth, I take "At

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dcw3 ( 649211 )

          There's a lesson here for the folks who say that speed kills. When you're forced to drive across wide open spaces at a mind numbing speed, you end up with people falling asleep. You're much better off allowing them to go at a pace that is fast enough to force them to pay attention. Note that this pace will vary based upon everything from the amount of traffic and weather, to the abilities of the vehicle and driver. Triple digit speeds on the Autobahn aren't crazy, they make perfect sense, but you also h

          • There's a lesson here for the folks who say that speed kills. When you're forced to drive across wide open spaces at a mind numbing speed, you end up with people falling asleep. You're much better off allowing them to go at a pace that is fast enough to force them to pay attention. Note that this pace will vary based upon everything from the amount of traffic and weather, to the abilities of the vehicle and driver. Triple digit speeds on the Autobahn aren't crazy, they make perfect sense, but you also have to require (and enforce) slow traffic keeping right and signalling your intentions. /soapbox

            The problem I have found is that many drivers have a hyperinflated assesment of their reflexes, and ability to drive. This is not unlike the invincibility and immortality of teenage boys. At 110 mph, a speed many people think they are just fine at - things happen very very quickly. Then there is animals, and those people yuo don't like who only go the speed limit are always getting in your way. You better have professional racer reflexes when one pulls in front of you going the speed limit while you are s

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      by Kjella ( 173770 )

      Better that than dozing off without autopilot. This is the fact that the populist human first sceptics should admit to. Given that, these sorts of stories aren't a problem; as the quote admits, the car was driving safely.

      If someone came up with a device that made drunk driving half as dangerous, would that improve road safety or make drunk driving a lot more common causing more accidents? Sure, these people probably would have caused an accident and now thanks to the Autopilot some of them didn't. That doesn't mean turning the autopilot on and going to sleep is a good idea because it adds a lot of risk compared to an awake driver. I already see a reply about a guy with narcolepsy who should get this, so he can continue to d

    • Re:Auto driving will save lives (Score:5, Informative)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot&worf,net> on Sunday February 03, 2019 @06:49AM (#58063412)

      Better that than dozing off without autopilot.

      This is the fact that the populist human first sceptics should admit to. Given that, these sorts of stories aren't a problem; as the quote admits, the car was driving safely.

      Yeah, this is what the anti-autonomous driving cars crowd should realize. They may enjoy driving, but if they saw what was REALLY happening around them, they'd really wish that technology was out there right now.

      People asleep at the wheel - it's so bad some cars come with alertness detection technology to suggest when you should pull over or get a coffee. Then there's all that distracted driving out there - not just texting anymore, but doing god-knows-what on their phones (texting, reading, watching movies, etc). It's so bad distracted driving has displaced drunk driving as the number one killer.

      The truth of the matter is that driving is no longer the #1 activity done behind the wheel for a good chunk of the driving population , and that should scare anyone who wants to stay safe on the road.

      • Better that than dozing off without autopilot.

        That assumes a sort of zero sum reality, like assuming you can raise prices as much as you want and nobody will change their buying behavior.

        Humans are bad at partial attention. Granted, we ain't so great at full attention either, but we are really bad at partial attention.

        If you make it so that 90% of the time a driver doesn't have to pay attention, then they will be way more likely to fall asleep, or otherwise be distracted, than if they had to handle all the driving.

    • I'd love to agree with you, but I can't. At today's state of technology, first, the guy might not have fallen asleep if it wasn't for auto-pilot. Second, if the drive did fall asleep in traffic, they'd have a rude awakening in a fender bender, but with auto-pilot, they get to sleep until the traffic lets up and they never wake up after their car hits something at 70mph like Walter Huang in his Model X. At least Walter's accident didn't claim any additional lives. Had he plowed into a stationary ambulance of

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tomxor ( 2379126 )

      Better that than dozing off without autopilot.

      Do you really think she "dozed off"?

      I think it's far more likely she consciously made a decision to rest her eyes while yielding to the autopilot. Tesla's autopilot is not fully autonomous... in which case anything less than pulling over to get some sleep or letting someone else drive is irresponsible.

      • As a person that's fallen asleep at the wheel twice, yes, I think it's very possible to "doze off" while driving. You're on the highway, the AC is on Max cold, the radio is as loud as it goes, and then BAM you are wide awake because you've turned the trunk of a Corolla into an accordion.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tomxor ( 2379126 )

          the AC is on Max cold, the radio is as loud as it goes, and then BAM you are wide awake because you've turned the trunk of a Corolla into an accordion

          You were aware enough to try to use loud noises and cold air and you didn't think to pull over... do you think external stimulus replace sleep? was it not obvious to you that your decision to do those things instead of stopping was going to increase your chances of uncontrollably falling asleep?

          • I do now because I learned how quickly it can happen. At the time I thought that I would be fine given the short distance (less than a kilometer) from my home.

    • Better that than dozing off without autopilot.

      And if it's detected that the driver is not paying attention then the car should be brought to a stop, not just continue on driving at highway speeds.

  • Who is in charge? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I think that you should either be paying attention to the road, or not be driving. The latter, these days, might include a self-driving car. So if the thing notices you're asleep and takes over, I'm actually fine with that, as long as the thing is qualified for the environment.

    The question is, is an aircraft-style autopilot enough? In cities, certainly not. Other roads, probably not. On the freeway, if the thing can just keep lane and away from obstacles (other cars, accidents, ...), it might be. For verily

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I tend to agree. The highway is typically the place where people tend to fall asleep, as it's the most boring. Being boring, it's also what autopilot does best.

      All it (the car) needs to do is wake you up as soon it's entering the city or exceptionally busy traffic. And as others have said here, for a lot of drivers i'd prefer them being asleep and a predictable autopilot taking their place.

  • ...the sleep of the just or the just asleep? - Douglas Adams (paraphrasing)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mentil ( 1748130 )

      I'd worry that suddenly honking at a sleeping driver might cause them to jerk the wheel, disabling autopilot and hitting someone the next lane over.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tsa ( 15680 )

        Exactly. Honking definitely is not a safe way of waking the driver in this case.

  • Video of drivers shamed in old car (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Njovich ( 553857 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @04:01AM (#58063084)

    Here is a video of sleeping drivers shamed in their car without automatic braking:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • Engineering To The Rescue (Score:3)

    by mentil ( 1748130 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @04:14AM (#58063112)

    Obviously the solution here is automatic fuel injection. And by fuel, I mean caffeine; and by injection, I mean hypodermic.

    • Obviously the solution here is automatic fuel injection. And by fuel, I mean caffeine; and by injection, I mean hypodermic.

      I like that. In addition, a supply of Atomic Fireball cinnamon candy will keep you wide awake. Getting logey? Boom, when you hit that cinnamon layer it's all synapses go!

  • Isn’t the technology supposed to detect that a driver is "non-responsive" and bring the car to a halt in a controlled manner? Those idiots should not be seen cruising around; they should be parked at the right side, call for emergency already sent (they’d then have to pay for their "nap").
    This is Tesla’s fault. Either they have no such detection or it’s broken (deactivation being a fault).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dcw3 ( 649211 )

      Quite honestly, if I was Tesla, I'd have a facial recognition set up for the driver. After a certain number (1?) of non-responsive incidents, I'd not allow them to drive again for a period of time. After multiple, the vehicle would no longer work for them because they're going to get Tesla sued when they crash.

  • Get in front of him, lift your foot off the gas pedal, and slow down to the minimum speed for the highway. Distance control will slow him and alert him to wake up, no? AND make sure you don't videotape the whole thing and post it to FB.

    • Get in front of him, lift your foot off the gas pedal, and slow down to the minimum speed for the highway. Distance control will slow him and alert him to wake up, no? AND make sure you don't videotape the whole thing and post it to FB.

      Or get infront, slow done a bit then slam on brakes and hit the accelerator. That should jolt the driver awake.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by hey! ( 33014 )

        As a software engineer I am disinclined to put my life in the hands of other software engineers if I can avoid it.

        • As a software engineer I am disinclined to put my life in the hands of other software engineers if I can avoid it.

          While i agree, that is thepoint of slamming on breaks and then rapidly accelerating. Ideally the Tesla sees the sudden change in velocity and distance and brakes, then senses the opening distance and accelerates, jolting the driver awake. It’s the modern version of the brake trick for tailgaters.

  • It bound to happen when you put a half ready autopilot in a car that's very good and expect human to sit and watch it drive correctly all the time. After a month your going to be on your phone or doing something else.

    Sleeping is putting a lot of trust in it however.

  • Autopilot made this news. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SuricouRaven ( 1897204 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @05:45AM (#58063312)

    If the car didn't have autopilot and he fell asleep, and crashed into another car at highway speed killing five people, then it wouldn't even make local news. Novel things make the news, and car accidents are routine - no-one cares about that continuous death toll any more, it's become background noise. But Tesla autopilot? That's new! Exciting! Scary! That gets covered.

  • Speed limits set too low cause similar problems (Score:5, Insightful)

    by olddoc ( 152678 ) on Sunday February 03, 2019 @07:41AM (#58063498)
    On well designed, safe highways It can be very boring to drive at low speed limits like 55MPH or 100KPH. I feel more alert when I drive with the flow of traffic which is often 20% higher than posted limits in the eastern USA. When the job is too boring it's hard for humans to maintain alertness and vigilance.

    • On well designed, safe highways It can be very boring to drive at low speed limits like 55MPH or 100KPH.

      Solution: drive during the day when our fellow "drivers" are out on the roads. For bonus points, do so in Massachusetts or Florida.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dcw3 ( 649211 )

        Solution: stop forcing people to drive at speeds that don't require them to pay attention.

    • I feel more alert

      Of course you do. The higher stakes and the higher risk of an accident is actually straining your brain. You may feel more alert but in reality you're below break even in end result for your life and health.

      There's been plenty of studies of this, mostly coming out of Europe where countries attempted to somewhat unify highway speed limits before realising what an impact it had. As a result countries like the Netherlands went from having 100km/h max to many highways with 120km/h and 130km/h.

      The EC identified

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dcw3 ( 649211 )

        Every 1km/h speed increase created an average 3% increase in accidents.

        That figure just doesn't pass the smell test, so I googled for it and came across https://ec.europa.eu/transport... [europa.eu]

        On that site, it also stated the following, which sounds like complete nonsense. Effectively, they're claiming that going 6mph faster is the equivalent of drunk driving. I call BS.

        This study indicates that exceeding the speed limit of 60 km/h by 5 km/h is comparable to the risk of a BAC of 0.05. The risk of exceeding the 60 km/h speed limit by 10 km/h is higher than driving with a BAC of 0.08

        • Effectively, they're claiming that going 6mph faster is the equivalent of drunk driving. I call BS.

          That website gives studies which were done in a variety of places. Specifically that one you're quoting came from Australia. You can call BS all you want, open up the studies and discuss those in detail rather than shooting the messenger.

          This study indicates that exceeding the speed limit of 60 km/h by 5 km/h is comparable to the risk of a BAC of 0.05. The risk of exceeding the 60 km/h speed limit by 10 km/h is higher than driving with a BAC of 0.08.

          Is that a surprise to you? For reference the former BAC is legal in most countries, the latter is legal in many too. At 0.05 your reaction is barely impaired. At 0.08 many people feel the effects on their abilities. Now a 10km/h increase in speed from 60-70km/h also represe

  • You end up with morons driving.

  • "it looks like the driver has at least one hand over the bottom half of the steering wheel,"

    A couple of Wiener sausages will do the job quite nicely.

  • "This is why I personally think Level 2 autonomy is a bad idea," warns Jalopnik. "If it's possible for a moron like this to sleep while the car is driving at highway speeds, that's a huge problem."

    Last spring a semi-trailer driver fell asleep on the 401 eastbound just up the road from my house (about 1.5 km away). As a result of some night-time construction, there was a traffic jam, and the truck piled into it at full speed and killed several people. The resulting accident study and cleanup left the entire

  • I remember a story I heard many years ago. There was a couple who on the advent of their retirement had emigrated to the U.S. from some european country (I'm tempted to say 'Poland' but I could be wrong). They bought an RV with the intent to tour the United States in it. The RV had Cruise Control; now, mind you, this story is set (I believe) back in the 1970's, so 'cruise control' meant a mechanism that kept the vehicle at a set speed and that's all. They apparently had never heard of such a thing and for w

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by jwhyche ( 6192 )

      I heard this story before but it was a bunch of hippies. They bought a van with cruse control. Lead hippie pointed the van to the open highway, hit cruse control, and went to back of the van to hit the bong with his friends.

  • I find it quite telling that no one here has thought that maybe the sleeping morons don't deserve the privilege of operating a deadly weapon on public roads. Someone gave these morons "licenses" to drive, indicating that at some point they had to take some "tests" as to their abilities to handle such an undertaking. Perhaps the problem is not with them sleeping but with the system that gives incompetent morons drivers' licenses.

    • This is America. We don’t like to take people’s “freedom” away. I’ve been at the DMV with elderly people who can barely walk, even with the assistance of a walker - watched them hobble up to the counter, get their license renewed without issue, and hobble away.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HiThere ( 15173 )

        Whether they can walk shouldn't be the deciding factor. The deciding factors should be visual acuity and reaction time.

        OTOH, I pulled my license when I realized I was programming while driving. The accident was ruled "no fault", but I disagreed. So it's not *just* reaction time and visual acuity.

        • Whether they can walk shouldn't be the deciding factor. The deciding factors should be visual acuity and reaction time.

          While your statement is true, it’s hard for me to imagine someone who shuffles along at 1/4 mph, and who takes a very long time to do simple tasks while at the counter, having a decent reaction time. But maybe the solution is to require driving tests after a certain age - even on a closed course it should be possible to judge reaction time.

    • You introduce a technology that invites them to sleep at the wheel and then you flog them for it.

  • Call in a license plate and if it's registered the car stops or pulls over. Get a picture of a person behind the wheel and they can't enable the system for six months.

  • I've fallen asleep at the wheel twice, once resulting in a serious crash and the other a fender bender. Any autonomy, even a stopgap AI like we have now, would be an improvement for me. I want it as a backup system in the hope that between the two of us we might make one decent driver.

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