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There has been a long-standing debate over whether Tesla’s autopilot saves lives or puts them at risk. Last August, we told you how this feature saved the life of a drunk driver in Norway. The man was apparently unconscious, but the autopilot was able to bring the vehicle to a stop.
Now a a woman, who at the time was suspected of impaired driving, in Glendale, USA, was also rescued by Tesla’s autopilot when she passed out while driving, as reported ABC 7.
The woman had indeed driven under the influence and eventually passed out. Her husband, who was driving behind her in a Volkswagen, then called the police.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) was then able to stop the Tesla (which was traveling at low speed) near Highways 134 and 5 after stopping right in front of it. It appears that the vehicle recognized that another vehicle had stopped in front of it and came to a stop.
ABC 7 later acquired radio transmissions of the incident – embedded below – where a dispatcher is heard saying, “The reporting party advises that his wife is unconscious in a Tesla. The vehicle drives itself.
“It ended up with TC in the right shoulder wall, and, uh, keep going,” added the dispatcher. TC is a shortcut for a road collision.
After the Tesla was arrested, CHP officers woke the driver, identified as Karla Villanueva, 31, and arrested her on suspicion of drunk driving. She was held in the prison of the Metropolitan Detention Center.
This was clearly a case where Tesla’s autopilot had saved a life. If the woman had passed out in another car, the end result would have been a collision long before CHP could step in to do anything.
Although Tesla advises never to use autopilot alone, we are seeing more and more cases where it can indeed be managed in this way. However, to be safe, it is best to never lose vigilance while driving.
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