Whatever they do and whichever car brand they drive, there’s one rule of thumb that drivers must always remember: Never take your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road. That’s one hard lesson that a Chinese driver has learned after he put car on Autopilot mode—resulting in a minor crash involving another driver after his supposedly smart car sideswiped a parked vehicle.
Fortunately, no one was hurt—except for the wallet and the ego of the driver who is now fulminating against the guy who sold him the car and even boasted about the hands-free and other high-tech features during the test drive. One can’t blame the driver for being mad, because apparently, he was told about the wonders of having a smart car without telling him of the risks involved.
The minor accident put Tesla Motors under the negative glare of the spotlight again, with more questions being raised about how the carmaker is packaging its Autopilot system to markets like China. Following the crash, Tesla has changed the translation of Autopilot into driver-assistance system in its Chinese website to dispel any notion that Autopilot means the car can drive itself.
Last May, an American driver was killed after his Tesla Model S car equipped with the Autopilot function crashed against a tractor trailer along a Florida highway. The smart car’s radar did not detect the trailer coming along for some reason, which is why the accident is now the subject of an investigation by the US National Highway Trasnportation Safety Administration.
The hype surrounding these smart, self-driving high-tech cars has given people the impression that they are the ultimate in driving experience. Imagine, they can take over the wheel if the driver is feeling a bit sleepy or tired since the car is equipped with radars and other sensors that could detect approaching vehicles, people or even animals on the road. And if you are not familiar with your destination, you can just type the address and the car could navigate its way thanks to GPS (Global Positioning System).
And it’s not so far-fetched, really, because apps like Waze can virtually drive you through the destination, advising you of an obstruction ahead or giving you alternate routes in case there is an accident ahead or when traffic is really bad. In fact, Waze even helpfully informs you of police presence (in case you are the irresponsible kind who drives without a license, or has not bothered to fix the broken head or tail light).
According to some reports, the United Arab Emirates is emerging as a potentially rich market for self-driving cars (also nicknamed Robo-cars) with more than 70 percent of the population indicating willingness to own one. One of the reasons for the emerging popularity of these smart cars, aside from their high-tech capabilities, is that it takes over the annoying task of parking. For Filipino drivers, the most likely reason why they would want a self-driving vehicle is that it would allow them to tweet, post on Facebook, play games, tinker with their smart gadgets and do whatever it is that they do to keep themselves occupied while stuck in interminable traffic.
But like one old timer pointed out, there is no substitute for an alert, responsible driver behind the wheels. As the Tesla Autopilot system has shown, even the most advanced technology is not fail-proof. What if the system goes bonkers for some reason?
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