Viral videos of Tesla drivers using VR headsets prompt US government alarm

US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday said human drivers must pay attention at all times after videos emerged of people wearing what appeared to be Apple’s recently released Vision Pro headset while driving Teslas.

Buttigieg responded on Twitter/X to a video that had more than 24m views of a Tesla driver who appeared to be gesturing with his hands to manipulate a virtual reality field.

Despite their names, Tesla’s assisted driving features – Autopilot, Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving – do not mean the vehicles are fully autonomous, Buttigieg said Monday on social media.

“Reminder – ALL advanced driver assistance systems available today require the human driver to be in control and fully engaged in the driving task at all times,” Buttigieg said.

Immersive_Matthew,

Is the US government also alarmed by all the text and driver or the rising pedestrian deaths?

thorbot,

Naw, it’s not topical

Mahonia,

This is one of the things about assisted driving tech that’s always confused me. It seems unlikely that we will have fully self-driving cars soon, but the illusion of being able to be absent while driving seems really dangerous. It doesn’t seem like an improvement to me to remove the human element from most of the driving tasks while also requiring that human to spring into action seemingly at random.

Like don’t get me wrong, people do dumb shit on the road with or without assistance, but having a system that requires human involvement at a zero-to-hero level seems like a bad system.

Then again, based on this actual content, maybe people just shouldn’t be allowed to own vehicles full stop.

echodot,

You are of course correct but the problem is that Tesla are irresponsible, shocking I know.

All the other car companies are holding back their self-driving tech until it actually 100% works, but Tesla are like, nah we’re going to use our customers as bata testers. So what if they die they’ve already bought the car.

anivia,

It seems unlikely that we will have fully self-driving cars soon

Maybe not from Tesla, but Mercedes already sells 2 cars which have limited Level 3 self driving functionality. Up to 50 mph you are legally allowed to divert your attention from the road and do something else, you just need to be ready to take back control within 10 seconds of the car telling you to do so. Mercedes is so confident in that system that they are taking legal liability for any crashes caused while the car is in self driving mode. And Mercedes is already planning to get the car certified for speeds up to 75mph soon, so it will be usable at regular highway speeds

Facebones,

I find it baffling that people are so eager to put their faith in this shit 😂

anivia,

Well, so far these cars have driven a lot of miles without crashes. They don’t need to be perfect, they just need to be better than a human driver, which is not a very high bar to set

iegod,

I’d sooner place it there than with humans.

olmium,

Have you been in the road?? Human drivers are fucking scary.

intensely_human,

I fucking love people

Immersive_Matthew,

If this prompts the US government, why is the rising pedestrian deaths not promoting action?

Mahonia,

Well, the actual causes of pedestrian deaths (big dumb vehicles, infrastructure that more or less necessitates personal vehicle ownership) are the same things that the auto industry lobbies hard for.

unphazed,

See General Motors and jaywalking

DeepGradientAscent,
@DeepGradientAscent@programming.dev avatar

Sometimes I fear that we deserve our impending extinction.

omnomed,

Don’t fear the reapoer

Kolanaki,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

Aren’t these new Apple things AR devices you can see through, though? You could have a HUD that assists with driving.

dual_sport_dork,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

Oh, you “could.” But I’ll bet you these individuals aren’t. These morons are looking at videos or scrolling the web or some other stupid attention diverting shit.

I’m not sure there even exists any kind of hypothetical “AR driving assistance” app for the Apple Vision. And there probably never will, for the obvious massive liability reasons.

echodot,

There’s only like four apps for the headset at the moment anyway.

aidan,

The issue is the government’s biggest concern isn’t safety, it’s being able to legislate those being unsafe. Which can actually be conflicting, because even if a VR headset showing directions on the road itself is less distracting than looking at a separate phone/GPS- a cop doesn’t know if you’re doing that, or if you have YouTube in the corner of your eye.

potustheplant,

Yeah and what would you do if the device malfunctions or runs put of battery? You’d literally be blind.

Kolanaki, (edited )
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

You take it off… It’s not bolted to your head. What do people who wear glasses do if they fog up while driving?

potustheplant,

Yeah, sure. You just “take it off” while driving a +2000kg metal block that’s circulating at 40 to 160km/h. It’s totally fine to lose control over your friggin eyes while operating a machine like that.

I’m sorry but you’re either a troll or just very dumb.

paddirn,

They’re not true AR devices, they’re VR headsets masquerading as AR, you’re still just watching a video of the world around you. As good as the Vision Pro’s passthrough video, it’s still passthrough video and doesn’t have the same resolution as our eyes would have, plus it probably blocks out at least some of your peripheral vision. I do think having a HUD while driving would be nice, but it would need to be able to restrict any sort of extraneous content out (like youtube videos or whatever) and ONLY show information needed for driving (maybe have music/audio controls at most).

funkless_eck,

the only “HUD” I want while driving is one that dynamically dims LED headlights while leaving the rest of my view unaltered.

TwanHE,

Speedo and tach projected in the bottom edge of the windscreen is really nice tho.

unphazed,

I used an app a couple of times at night that reflected my speed where I know speed traps existed. Was kinda cool if low tech

Kolanaki,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

Imagine having a full field of view around your vehicle without looking away from the road in front of you. Full 360° vision from a camera setup without having to move your head. Or, at the very least, making your blind spots transparent so they no longer exist.

aidan,

And sunrises/sunsets right in front of you

iAvicenna,

on today’s episode of “humans testing the limits of natural selection”

Copythis,

I mean, I’d use partial self driving on I5 to eat my taco bell, but I’m still paying attention to what’s in front of me!

BreakDecks,

I’m still paying attention to what’s in front of me

Yeah, you’re paying attention to the fast food you’re too impatient to wait to eat safely. You’re not properly paying attention to the road or all of the other people whose lives are now in danger because you’re shoving a chalupa down your pie hole instead of safely operating the two ton missile you’re supposed to be guiding down the highway. Your lane assist isn’t magic, and when you inevitably fuck this up, I hope it’s a single-vehicle accident and you spare other drivers the misfortune.

Copythis,

Jeez, It was a rental I had for a month about 2 years ago.

And for your information, it was a single chicken taco. There were no cars around. I’m not talking LA I5, this is in the middle of nowhere and I had to make an emergency drive up Eureka from Sacramento.

fne8w2ah,

Between this and the crApple VR thingy on the NYC subway, this makes me wonder for the fate of humanity.

skuzz,

We embrance technology in stupid ways. It’s a thing we always do, It’s pretty hilarious aside from the death part.

When cars were invented, there were no traffic laws, people drove drunk and got in tumbling car wrecks, ran over people constantly. They were much faster than foot, carriage, etc.

When cell phones became affordable, people talked-and-drove so much and wrecks went up.

When texting became popular, people texted and drove and wrecks went up even more.

When smartphones became approachable to the masses, people drive around scrolling web sites rather than driving.

When social video media became popular and usable on mobile broadband, people drive around watching videos rather than driving.

Now VR headset, and on and on.

I see a couple takeaways here:

  • We really hate driving, like a lot, at the expense of our own safety. Why doesn’t America especially embrace public transport. We have over a century of documented data indicating how much we all apparently hate driving so much we’ll try to die instead of driving.
  • We humans are really stupid about risk assessment, but eventually society corrects the stupidity. Seems to be something we just keep doing ad infinitum and we’re just cool losing a few people along the way until we correct. It’s just odd.
Hossenfeffer,
@Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk avatar

Buttigieg.

Heh.

mob,

viral videos

Single video…

soggy_kitty,

The media and public do love an exaggeration

RGB3x3,

And it looks fake, honestly. If you see videos of YouTube reviewers using the device, they do way less poking and tapping and like, weird throwing of the hands that the person in the OP video is doing.

Same with some of the other videos of people walking across streets and through traffic.

werefreeatlast,

It’s Fred. Don’t worry about him at all, he’s really good on speed runs up and down the 5fwy. He always gets home with extra tokens and a good 5000 points.

I wish my Toyota gave me points for driving it!

IronpigsWizard,

A lot of the people that drive these things are acting like children in adult bodies. I have seen some wildly dumb shit happen. It’s like the car company created by the Darwin Awards…

I literally once saw someone eating on a little folding table/desk of some sort in their Tesla (driver seat, of course) with the dash screen playing some sort of media.

Another time, the person was playing a handheld gaming console of some sort, in the driver seat.

An the automatic lane switching doesn’t adjust for people speeding up in the passing lane well. I’ve seen a couple near accidents there.

ctkatz,

acting? I’m gonna need to see some evidence of that.

XTornado,

I mean the table thing and the gaming sounds cool… The issue is them doing it while “”“driving”“”.

chili6633,

As someone who gets both car sick and VR sick, this seems like my worst nightmare.

ExfilBravo,

I wouldn’t last more than 15 seconds before projectile vomiting.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA,
@HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world avatar

This seems like something you could take advantage of.

XTornado,

Those days when clearly something wants to come out of you and you feel like shit but it takes forever to want to go up… Some people does the fingers thing… but I have never ever got it to work tbh.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA,
@HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world avatar

Nah I just had a long visit with the MIL and there were some times I wished I could have projectile vomited at her to get her to shut up. Really anything to get her to shut up. The topic of the day was how much she hates her sister.

XTornado,

Hahaha ok that too 😅

ebits21,
@ebits21@lemmy.ca avatar

Cybertrucks, VR headsets, and projectile vomiting…

Ahh the future!

Sorgan71,

I used to get both, but when I eat ginger mints it helps

diffcalculus,

Have you tried eating a ginger? May also help.

XTornado,

That sounds fishy…

XTornado,

I guess they are related no? Like it makes sense to have both.

The issue is seeing movement but you are not physically moving…although the car you are technically moving but… I guess confused the brain as the movement is not caused by you.

In my case I don’t get sick on car ever… And in VR the same, the only exception is on VR I might lose a little bit the orientation and lose my equilibrium for sec but very very rarely and not enough to fall thankfully.

cynar,

It’s a mismatch between what the eyes see and the ears feel. In nature, this generally only happens when you’ve been poisoned (think drunk). The obvious solution to being poisoned is to empty the stomach, to limit how much more gets absorbed.

The effect is processed at a fairly high level, mentally. This means you can influence it. E.g. if you focus on the difference, in an accepting manner, and your subconscious will stop reacting to it as badly.

XTornado,

Oh interesting, thanks for sharing that.

HenryWong327,
@HenryWong327@lemmy.ml avatar

From what I’ve heard (back when I used Reddit) they aren’t linked, there’s apparently a bunch of people who have one but not the other.

Someone said that it’s cause they’re almost opposite effects- car sickness is when you feel movement but don’t see it, whereas vr sickness is when you see movement but don’t feel it- but I’d take this with a grain of salt since it’s just some random person on Reddit guessing at the cause.

Personally my experience is mostly the same as yours, I don’t get either.

scroll_responsibly,
@scroll_responsibly@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

If you want a “self driving vehicle,” buy a horse.

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

How about a pig with a saddle?

scroll_responsibly,
@scroll_responsibly@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

A Mountie?

littlebluespark,
@littlebluespark@lemmy.world avatar

Ayyy 🤌🏼

RagingRobot,

I always wondered were there less accidents back then? Horses probably actively try not to run into things right? But they can also get scared and go crazy so who knows

the_seven_sins,

There are stories from horses bringing home their drunk, sleeping ‘drivers’ because they knew their way home.

I’d guess there were less alcohol related accidents…?

XTornado,

I saw a horse go crazy recently and yeah… the horse didn’t hit shit…but the ones on the carriage…10/10 wouldn’t recommend.

postmateDumbass,

Horses also leave horseshit wherever they go.

Not a plus.

dual_sport_dork,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

You know, so do Tesla and Musk fanboys. What a curious coincidence.

unphazed,

Yeah but streetcleaners would get it every hour or so and transport it off to farms. You know, the giant gardens that are so depleted of nutrients they spray chemicals constantly to replenish.

Wogi,

Riding horses or in horse drawn carriages was banned in the city of Rome multiple times in antiquity, because of accidents involving two horses.

Cars will come to a stop, eventually, on their own. Horses get spooked and run, causing a much bigger problem.

Mary Todd Lincoln once jumped from a carriage after her driver was thrown from the seat and the horse began to speed away. The resulting injury left her with migraines for the rest of her life.

baseless_discourse,

or just take a train.

lolcatnip,

That’s great if there’s a train that goes where you need to go. For most people in the US that happens approximately never.

Chriswild,

If only something could be done about it but it seems for some reason the laws of physics don’t allow trains in north America

Schmuppes,

It’s a tragedy, really.

lolcatnip,

That’s actually true in a way. Shit here is really far apart.

Neon,

That’s exactly the Environment Trains were designed for?

Chriswild,

That’s why the first intercontinental travel was trains. Over distance trains a substantially more efficient than car because of rolling resistance and differentials.

That’s why I say the laws of physics don’t apply because we do the objectively worse thing because the government hates building infrastructure.

The US for instance is about the same size as China yet China has lots of rail because the government will focus on infrastructure.

lolcatnip,

Yes, trains are great for long distances. Where they suck is trying to get people from point to point in a sprawling city designed around the assumption that everyone has a car. Cities are so spread out that getting within walking distance of most destinations by train would require an unreasonably large rail system.

Chriswild,

Let’s be honest, cars suck at that too and that’s why we’re perpetually dealing with traffic and widening roads.

But let’s take Phoenix AZ, the premium suburb sprawl. The light rail is pretty damn good and with a bike it’s pretty painless evern if you need to get a mile or two from the light rail.

The main issue with using bikes like this is all the big ass cars and drivers who will not share the road. If we had dedicated bike infrastructure leading to rail it would work just fine even with suburban sprawl.

I know this because I did this on the light rail in Phoenix.

lolcatnip,

For what it’s worth, I always vote for more public transit. I’m just never that impressed with the results.

Chriswild,

You don’t have to love it or anything and I’m not saying public transportation is mandatory. But right now, cars are mandatory in a lot of ways and I think that’s a shame.

lolcatnip,

Agreed.

baseless_discourse,

Emphasis on “in the U.S.” :(

nilloc,

Also the only place that stupid fucking Tesla truck is legal.

Jarix,

Technicality! Its available in canada so your statement is factually false.

Bakkoda,

Look at Mr Fancy pants with horse money over here.

YoorWeb,

Last time I’ve checked Tesla’s self driving option comes with a pricy subscription paid monthly.

werefreeatlast,

You don’t get points or game tokens on a horse though.

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