I’m not sure what the title means but I’ve been thinking about it while driving to work on Sunday. Currently I drive a late 2016 Tesla Model S. When I bought it, Tesla had just introduced the new facelift for the front end, and their own driving computer or HW 2.0. Previously, the driving computer was made by MoblileEye and called HW 1.0. The salesperson kept pushing that the promised self-driving feature was just around the corner. I chose not be believe him so I did not purchase the $3,000 FSD option but only the $5,000 Autopilot, which is just fancy cruise control and lane keeping. Four years and two hardware revisions later, Teslas still can’t really drive themselves as promised.
Anyway, the Autopilot feature does work, and depending on the software version, sometimes more well that others. I use it a lot while driving, both on the freeway and local. It was more designed for freeway use but the software works as long as the lanes are clearly marked. It does take away some of the intensity and need to focus sway while your are driving since the bulk of the work is handled by the computer. I usually set the cruise speed at x + 5 so usually 70 mph on the freeways. For Sunday, that was too slow as everyone seems to be driving at 90 mph. What Autopilot also allows me to do is observe more, and there are a lot of aggressive and/or terrible drivers on the road. Plus, the BMW drive meme is mostly true.
On Sunday, I noticed a lot of reckless drivers that would pass on the right, or swerve in and out of lanes, just to get an extra 3-5 mph. Since my car’s speed is controlled by the cruise control setting and the car in front of me, the urge to “play along” with bad drivers is minimized. I think the roads will be a lot safer once self-driving software is improved since the computer removes ego from driving. And since electric cars are super quiet (no internal combustion engine), it’s also a more relaxing experience.
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Yes, it’s a weird post at 1:38 am in the morning but the toothache is keeping me up. I just took another Tylenol pill (just one) even though it hasn’t been six hours since the last dose. I’m hoping the addition of a bit more acetaminophen will reduce the pain.
Life with chronic diseases 