In 10-20 years, autonomous cars could be so advanced that human passengers will never have to worry about being involved in an accident. In 2017, however, semi-autonomous vehicles still carry with them a lot of risks.
Ever since Tesla introduced its Autopilot system, we’ve seen videos of owners pushing the limits of the system and placing far too much faith in it. Take Instagram user Lilduval, for example.
A couple of days ago, the social media star shared a video of him reclining in the driver’s seat of his Tesla while smoking and paying absolutely no attention to the road, all while traveling at 75 mph (121km/h). Some believe Lilduval was smoking cannabis at the time but he suggests it was simply a cigar.
Either way, the risks being taken here cannot be underestimated. Sure, Autopilot can be quite reliable on highways but the technology has been blamed for a number of crashes in recent times. Another interesting take away from the clip is how some people seem to have misinterpreted what Autopilot is.
Despite what the name might suggest, the system does not turn a Tesla into a fully-autonomous vehicle. Instead, drivers must always remain attentive because if something goes wrong, the car will rely on the driver to get it out of a sticky situation. It is for this very reason that some companies, including Ford and Google, have opted against semi-autonomous technologies and are instead planning to jump immediately to level 5 systems.
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