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Comment by notaki | Hacker News Reader

The entire video is Autopilot in city driving. Autopilot, at this time, is only for "driving on dry, straight roads, such as highways and freeways. It should not be used on city streets."

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So the wipers are on due to rain but the "autopilot" is not so smart to know that it's raining? Why can people activate it if it knows that these are not the right conditions for it to work?

This crash occurred in circumstances that met all these conditions: the road is a divided highway, straight and flat. The surrounding landscape is almost featureless, and there are no overhead light gantries or signs. The crash occurred two minutes before the start of civil twilight, but the weather was dry and clear - in other words, almost the perfect conditions for spotting a truck right in front, so there are problems with its performance even in its natural environment.

Completely agree, but then if users followed Tesla's instructions about AP then we would not be here.

There is precedence that "it's up to the user" is not sufficient as a societal standard for what is legally allowed. (For example seat belt laws). It is reasonable to ask: "Should we allow such a feature in cars on our road?" For example, what if the car had struck a cyclist rather than a truck and the fatality went the other way?

What precedence? If "it's up to the user" is not sufficient, then all vehicles should be speed capped at the legal speed limit and prohibited from moving if seat belts are not on. Clearly that's not the case. Unfortunately, freedom includes the freedom to do dumb shit. Some people do dumb shit and are responsible for the consequences.

> Unfortunately, freedom includes the freedom to do dumb shit.

You are not legally free to do all dumb shit. For example, you are not free in many states to ride around without a seatbelt on. Car makers are not free to make cars without seatbelts.

That's the precedence.

That's exactly my point. Seat belts are required by law. Obeying the speed limit is required by law. But users are not forced to obey these laws by restrictions placed on the vehicles by manufacturers. If the user disobeys the law, they are responsible. If a Tesla driver disobeys Tesla's Autopilot warning, they are responsible. Are you proposing that we need a law that makes Autopilot illegal to use on city streets? Or highways as well?

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