What’s the point of having a so-called autonomous car with Autopilot mode if you can’t use it to eat junk food while at the wheel, without having to worry yourself about the actual driving?
Videos of Teslas drivers misusing the Autopilot on the highway or other public roads, while zooming at high rates of speeds, are a dime a dozen these days. That doesn’t make these drivers less careless, though.
The latest comes from London, U.K., and features a dude using Autopilot to eat a McFlurry. A fellow motorist noticed the 2016 Tesla Model S on the M25 at Heathrow, west of London, doing 50 mph while he had both hands occupied with the sweet treat.
You will also find the footage available at the bottom of the page. The man is clearly not concerned about his or other’s safety, perhaps thinking that Autopilot really does make his car self-driving. It doesn’t, by the way, which is something Tesla can’t stress hard enough.
Once the dude notices that there’s a camera pointed at him, he quickly drops the McFlurry into his lap and puts his hands back where he should have had them from the start: on the steering wheel.
According to the Daily Mail, if the cops ever catch him, his punishment would depend on whether his driving is deemed careless, dangerous or driving without due care and attention. Either way, he is in direct violation of the Highway Code.
“[Drivers must] not rely on driver assistance systems such as motorway assist, lane departure warnings, or remote control parking,” rule 150 of the Code states, as cited by the same publication. “They are available to assist but you should not reduce your concentration levels.”
“If you are using advanced driver assistance systems, like motorway or traffic jam assist or a remote control parking application or device, then you as the driver are still responsible for the vehicle and must exercise full control over these systems at all times,” the rule adds.
Tesla clearly states that the Autopilot mode is a driver assistance system and that the driver must keep both hands on the wheel when activated.
The latest comes from London, U.K., and features a dude using Autopilot to eat a McFlurry. A fellow motorist noticed the 2016 Tesla Model S on the M25 at Heathrow, west of London, doing 50 mph while he had both hands occupied with the sweet treat.
You will also find the footage available at the bottom of the page. The man is clearly not concerned about his or other’s safety, perhaps thinking that Autopilot really does make his car self-driving. It doesn’t, by the way, which is something Tesla can’t stress hard enough.
Once the dude notices that there’s a camera pointed at him, he quickly drops the McFlurry into his lap and puts his hands back where he should have had them from the start: on the steering wheel.
According to the Daily Mail, if the cops ever catch him, his punishment would depend on whether his driving is deemed careless, dangerous or driving without due care and attention. Either way, he is in direct violation of the Highway Code.
“[Drivers must] not rely on driver assistance systems such as motorway assist, lane departure warnings, or remote control parking,” rule 150 of the Code states, as cited by the same publication. “They are available to assist but you should not reduce your concentration levels.”
“If you are using advanced driver assistance systems, like motorway or traffic jam assist or a remote control parking application or device, then you as the driver are still responsible for the vehicle and must exercise full control over these systems at all times,” the rule adds.
Tesla clearly states that the Autopilot mode is a driver assistance system and that the driver must keep both hands on the wheel when activated.