Incident 67: Sleeping Driver on Tesla AutoPilot

Description: A Tesla Model S remained on autopilot while being operated by a drunk, sleeping operator whose hands were not on the wheel. The police had to slow the car down by slowing in front of the vehicle to activate its 'driver assist' feature .

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Alleged: Tesla developed an AI system deployed by Tesla and Motorist, which harmed Motorists.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
67
Report Count
24
Incident Date
2018-12-01
Editors
Sean McGregor

CSETv0 Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Full Description

A Tesla Model S continued autopilot at 70 mph on a California highway in November 2018 despite the driver's hands not being placed on the wheel, a requirement of enabling the Autopilot system. The California Highway Patrol was unable to wake the driver and had to drive in front of the Tesla for approximately 7 minutes to activate its 'driver assist' feature and slow the vehicle to a stop. The driver was allegedly sleeping and with his blood alcohol content being twice the legal limit.

Short Description

A Tesla Model S remained on autopilot while being operated by a drunk, sleeping operator whose hands were not on the wheel. The police had to slow the car down by slowing in front of the vehicle to activate its 'driver assist' feature .

Severity

Negligible

Harm Type

Harm to physical health/safety

AI System Description

The Tesla Autopilot is an advanced driver assistance system that enhances safety and convenience behind the wheel, possessing 8 external cameras, a radar, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a powerful onboard computer to sense the vehicle's external environment, internal environment, and control the vehicle's functions. Autopilot possesses two functions, Traffic-Aware Cruise Control, which matches the speed of your car to that of the surrounding traffic and Autosteer, which assists in steering within a clearly marked lane, and uses traffic-aware cruise control

System Developer

Tesla

Sector of Deployment

Transportation and storage

Relevant AI functions

Perception, Cognition, Action

AI Techniques

Tesla Autopilot

AI Applications

autonomous driving, environmental sensing

Location

Palo Alto, CA

Named Entities

Teslal, Model S, California, California Highway Patrol

Technology Purveyor

Tesla

Beginning Date

2018-11-30T08:00:00.000Z

Ending Date

2018-11-30T08:00:00.000Z

Near Miss

Near miss

Intent

Accident

Lives Lost

No

Data Inputs

360 Ultrasonic Sonar, Image Recognition Camera, Long Range Radar, traffic patterns

CSETv1 Taxonomy Classifications

Taxonomy Details

Harm Distribution Basis

none

Sector of Deployment

transportation and storage

sacbee.com · 2018

The California Highway Patrol says a man found passed out Friday behind the wheel of his Tesla on the Bay Bridge told them his car was on autopilot. California Highway Patrol

When California Highway Patrol officers found a man passed out Fr…

Drunk Driver in Tesla Tells Police Officer the Car Was on Autopilot
inverse.com · 2018

Late last week, a Tesla driver fell asleep in his car around 5:30 p.m. on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge. He was spotted by motorists, and when police arrived on the scene (and, probably, woke him up) he tried to get out of trouble by claiming …

Drunk Tesla Driver Tells Cops Autopilot Was in Charge
fortune.com · 2018

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) says a driver was found passed out in his Tesla with a very high blood alcohol content on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge on Friday. The driver, according to CHP, claimed the car had been “set on autopilot” in…

Who's driving? Autonomous cars may be entering the most dangerous phase
theguardian.com · 2018

Autopilot controls are not yet fully capable of functioning without human intervention – but they’re good enough to lull us into a false sense of security

When California police officers approached a Tesla stopped in the centre of a five-la…

Tesla owner filmed in passenger seat using Autopilot says he was "unlucky one who got caught"
driving.co.uk · 2018

THE OWNER of a Tesla Model S who was caught on camera using his car’s self-driving Autopilot function while sitting in the passenger seat, while travelling at speed on the M1 motorway, says he is “the unlucky one who got caught”.

The admiss…

sacbee.com · 2018

Here’s what you need to know about electric vehicles The United States has one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in the world. This video breaks down all the numbers on EVs. Up Next × SHARE COPY LINK The United States has one of the la…

It took seven miles to pull over a Tesla with a seemingly asleep driver
arstechnica.com · 2018

The California Highway Patrol on Friday pulled over a Tesla Model S that was traveling down the road—but whose driver appeared to be asleep at the wheel. The vehicle was traveling southbound on Highway 101 in Palo Alto.

Officers said that t…

A Sleeping Driver's Tesla Led Police On A 7-Minute Chase
tech.slashdot.org · 2018

"When a pair of California Highway Patrol officers pulled alongside a car cruising down Highway 101 in Redwood City before dawn Friday, they reported a shocking sight: a man fast asleep behind the wheel," reports the San Francisco Chronicle…

Tesla on Autopilot drove 7 miles with driver drunk asleep, police says
electrek.co · 2018

A Tesla Model S driver was pulled over and arrested by the California Highway Patrol yesterday after the police officers saw him seemingly sleeping at the wheel.

It took about 7 minutes and 7 miles for the police to be able to pull the car …

CHP: Drunk driver slept while Tesla appeared to drive Hwy 101 on autopilot
sfchronicle.com · 2018

When a pair of California Highway Patrol officers pulled alongside a car cruising down Highway 101 in Redwood City before dawn Friday, they reported a shocking sight: a man fast asleep behind the wheel.

The car was a Tesla, the man was a Lo…

Police in the San Francisco Bay Area took an unusual approach to stop a Tesla operating on Autopilot as a drunk driver slept behind the wheel
businessinsider.com.au · 2018

Bryan Logan/Business Insider The Tesla Model S involved in the incident is not pictured here.

Police in the Northern California town of Redwood City arrested a man they found sleeping behind the wheel of his Tesla Model S as it drove down a…

Cops struggle to pull over allegedly drunk, sleeping Tesla driver
mashable.com · 2018

It took California Highway Patrol seven minutes to pull over a Tesla driver. The driver appeared to be asleep at his wheel.

Alexander Samek had allegedly dozed off while operating his Tesla Model S when an officer tried to pull him over. In…

Police Pull Over Self-Driving Tesla with Sleeping Man Behind the Wheel
extremetech.com · 2018

There may come a day when cars can truly drive themselves and you can take a nap during your commute, but we’re not there yet. In the meantime, the ever-advancing state of self-driving technology has made some people a bit too comfortable t…

insideevs.com · 2018

That’s sophisticated cruiser control!

Late last week at 3:30 in the morning, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) noticed the driver of a gray Tesla Model S seemingly asleep in his car. Unfortunately, it was going 70 miles an hour down Highw…

Tesla on Autopilot drove 7 miles with sleeping drunken driver, police say
autonews.com · 2018

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Cops Chased a Tesla for 7 Miles While the Driver Apparently Slept
digitaltrends.com · 2018

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It’s not uncommon for police officers to find a driver asleep in their car, but finding a driver asleep in one that’s motoring along at 70 mph … well, that’s something else.

The alleged incident took place on Highway 101 in Palo Alto,…

Police may have used Tesla’s Autopilot feature to stop driver asleep at the wheel
theverge.com · 2018

Redwood City California Highway Patrol stopped a Tesla Model 3 they suspected was running Autopilot with a drunk driver asleep at the wheel. The incident occurred last Friday, November 30th at 3:37AM PT, when officers observed a car going 7…

A Sleeping Tesla Driver Highlights Autopilot's Biggest Flaw
wired.com · 2018

As technology advances, so must policing. Last week, when a couple of California Highway Patrol officers spotted a man apparently sleeping in the driver’s seat of a Tesla Model S going 70 mph down Highway 101 in Palo Alto around 3:30 am, th…

Police Catch Tesla Autopilot Driving Home Sleeping Drunk
entrepreneur.com · 2018

It took the police officers in two vehicles seven minutes to outsmart Tesla's Autopilot system.

December 3, 2018 2 min read

This story originally appeared on PCMag

One day in the not too distant future, sleeping at the wheel will become com…

Tesla autopilot saves driver after he fell asleep at wheel on the freeway
theregister.co.uk · 2018

In an exciting first, the autopilot feature in a Tesla car managed to save rather than kill its occupant.

At 0300 PT on Friday, the highway patrol pulled alongside at grey Tesla Model S travelling at 70 miles an hour on a freeway down towar…

The brilliant way cops pulled over a drunk driver passed out in a Tesla on autopilot
techly.com.au · 2018

A man from northern California was arrested after police caught him sleeping behind the wheel.

If, like me, you’re not a car lover, you may be wondering how that’s possible. Well, he was driving a Tesla Model S – a luxury electric sedan tha…

Police chased the 'unresponsive' driver of a Tesla S that was on Autopilot for 7 miles in California. How can that happen?
abcnews.go.com · 2018

In the early morning hours, California Highway Patrol chased a grey Tesla S for an unfathomable seven miles down Highway 101 as the driver slept, police said.

Redwood City Area CHP officers said they observed Alexander Joseph Samek, a local…

topspeed.com · 2018

We have been hearing stories about how the autonomous system has failed in cars and even killed people in some cases. How about we talk about a life-saving incident for a change? A 45-year old man in his Tesla Model S was spotted by the cop…

Drunk Tesla driver caught asleep behind the wheel at 70mph
driving.co.uk · 2018

A TESLA driver was arrested in California after police found the motorist asleep behind the wheel at 70mph.

A California Highway Patrol officer spotted the Tesla Model S driver out for the count along a highway south of San Francisco, and w…

Variants

A "variant" is an incident that shares the same causative factors, produces similar harms, and involves the same intelligent systems as a known AI incident. Rather than index variants as entirely separate incidents, we list variations of incidents under the first similar incident submitted to the database. Unlike other submission types to the incident database, variants are not required to have reporting in evidence external to the Incident Database. Learn more from the research paper.

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