Associated Incidents
A curious incident occurred in Bavaria on the A70: An e-car driver drove in autonomous driving mode on the A70. The police officers tried to wake him up for more than 15 minutes.
Police officers noticed a car on the A70 near Bamberg. A Tesla was driving at the same speed and the same distance from the patrol car in front on the A70 towards Bayreuth. Officials quickly suspected that the autopilot was engaged. What the police only realized shortly afterwards: the man had actually fallen asleep at the wheel.
Even honking didn't help
The man's sleep was so sound that stop signals and horns had no effect. Only after 15 minutes at 110 km/h did the driver wake up and follow the officials. During the traffic control, the man showed "drug-typical failures," according to the police.
Security function tricked
The Tesla driver apparently knew exactly what he was doing. With the help of a steering wheel weight, he tricked the vehicle's safety function. The weight fooled the checking mechanism into thinking that a hand was on the steering wheel. So the driver could fall asleep unnoticed.
Was autonomous driving allowed?
Autonomous driving in Germany is divided into different levels and is funded by the federal government. On June 21, 2017, the law on automated driving came into force. First, an overview of the different levels of autonomy:
Autonomous driving: the different levels
- Autonomy level 0: The driver drives the car himself and controls everything
- Autonomy level 1: Assistance systems, such as cruise control for distance and speed, are used in the vehicle
- Autonomy level 2: semi-automated system help with driving, e.g. automatic parking, keeping in lane
- Autonomy level 3: conditional automation, the driver does not have to constantly monitor the vehicle. The vehicle prompts the driver to take control. It carries out functions independently (set indicators, change lanes and stay in lane).
- Autonomy level 4: The vehicle drives automatically and the driver is a passenger. The system reports when the driver should take over.
- Autonomy level 5: With full automation, no driver is required at all. The vehicle drives itself. Only the start and destination need to be entered.
Autonomy level 4 only in defined operating areas
Autonomy level 4 is only permitted by the federal government in specified operating areas and is to be tested in the coming years. Autonomy level 3 is currently permitted if certain framework conditions are met. However, there are hardly any vehicles that offer this level of development.
Tesla: self-driving mode autonomy level 2
The Tesla driver was driving in self-driving mode (FSD). Although a Tesla vehicle has already covered 600 kilometers on a test drive and the driver only had to intervene once, the company confirms that it is only an assistance system of autonomy level 2.
Driver risked his safety and that of others
The Tesla driver does not only have to fear being punished for being unfit to drive due to drug use. Criminal liability for traffic violations committed by the autonomous vehicle is usually determined on a case-by-case basis.