Silent-Runner
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Tesla: Canadian sleeps at speed 140 – Autopilot 'escapes' from police
ksta
2 hrs ago
Some Tesla vehicles have a driving assistance mode.
Police have stopped a 20-year-old driver who allegedly slept in a Tesla at high speed on a highway in Canada. The electric car appeared to be travelling at more than 140 kilometres per hour in the driving assistance program, police said on Thursday (local time).
Both the seat of the driver and that of the passenger were completely reclined and both occupants appeared to be asleep. When the patrol switched on the blue light, the car automatically accelerated to 150 km/h. 110 kilometres per hour were allowed at the site.
Canadian police officers speechless after Tesla chase
He had not seen anything like it in his life, official Darrin Turnbull told state broadcaster CBC. 'I've been with the police for 23 years, most of it with the traffic police, but I'm speechless. No one looked out of the windshield to see where the car was going.' The system known as "autopilot" is an advanced driving assistance program, but you have to control the car yourself. However, contrary to the manufacturer's recommendations, cars could be subsequently manipulated to modify or circumvent safety systems.
After the car was eventually stopped, police charged the 20-year-old with driving too fast and stripped him of his driving licence for 24 hours due to fatigue. After an investigation, he was later charged with dangerous driving. He is to appear in court in December. The incident occurred near Ponoka in the province of Alberta in early July, but has only now been made public. A caller had alerted the police at the time.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a clear statement in August about the criticism of the "Autopilot" driver assistance program. The term is by no means misunderstood, he told the trade magazine "Automobile News" at the time. The excitement about it is "idiotic." Tesla had been accused of suggesting after several fatal accidents that it was a technology for autonomous driving, not just an assistance program. - (dpa)
Well, seems the furure has arrived
