Obviously Drivers Are Already Abusing

Teslas Autopilot Alex Davies

Original Article: Wired
Summary:
An article in Wired magazine stated a team of 3 made a record breaking journey coastto-coast from Redondo Beach to Manhattan in 57 hours and 48 minutes in an Tesla
Model S sedan using Autopilot. The record has yet to be confirmed however these
individuals are no stranger to breaking records with their apparent love of electric
vehicles. One of the drivers Alex Roy won the Cannonball run in 2006. The three drivers
Carl Reese, Deena Mastracci and Alex Roy have set previous records such as least
time spent charging an Electric Vehicle during a transcontinental run and as previously
mentioned the Cannonball run in 2006 from New York to LA in 31 hours and 4 minutes.
The drivers travelled at speeds in excess of 90 mph with an average speed of 51.8
mph. Autopilot are an option that was activated through an OVA update to the Model S
and X SUV lineup.

Issues:
Autonomous vehicles pose incredible risks both liability and ethical dilemma. There still
is not really any legislation for autonomous vehicles and yet they are already on the
road. Technically autonomy isnt 100% true but very close. The idea of who is liable
when there is an incident is probably the number one question. By all accounts it is
typically the driver at fault as they are in full control of their vehicle. Yet in an
autonomous the more autonomy the vehicle has the less control the driver has so who
is to blame when the car goes straight instead of turning.
An added issue I find is this OVA update which bothers me for the fact of its security
risk. If a software update renders a car Autopilot capability what other update features
will be created or worse case hacked.
Imperfect:
The system is not without is flaws and this team found a few which has in some ways
brought up issues and concerns. For starters they were able to go 90mph while on

autopilot which in their opinion causes one of the incidents they experience. They were
heading into a curved section of road at 90 mph and as an experienced driver would
know to turn into the center of the turn to offset the centrifugal forces created. The car
attempted to stay in the lane but could not and would have gone straight off a cliff had it
not been for the quick response of Roy quickly pulled it back into the lane. The car at
the high speeds tended to wander out of the lane as well. Roy did point out that the
sensors didnt seem to be able to function effectively at the higher speeds.
Ethical
Should this technology exist; do we really need vehicles to drive themselves what good
to mankind is this going to serve. And or course who will be at fault may never be
decided. Consumer based testing seems to be the Tesla model for now as drivers have
already experienced issues with vehicle staying in lane.
Opinions / Ranting
I do not feel Autonomous vehicles should be allowed on public roads and available to
consumers. This is not a technology that is needed, whats the benefit to society as I
see more chaos. I fully embrace advancements in technology and think autonomous
vehicles are cool and amazing but it should simply be an experiment but not a reality. I
see images of WALL-E with all of the morbidly obese people floating around in chairs as
the reality we face when humans no longer need to perform mundane tasks.
Technology like this could be used as a safety measure during collisions or slippery
roads etc but not as means to replace the driver. I would rather see this technology go
to something more advantageous or beneficial to those that are sight impaired. The idea
of giving sight to an unsighted person would have far better benefit than allowing people
to be lazier driving than they already are.

We should embrace technology, not allow technology to embrace

us.
Sources:
Davies, Alex. 'Obviously Drivers Are Already Abusing TeslaS Autopilot'. WIRED. N.p.,
2015. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.