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Started By
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Drunk! But in your own self driving car?
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:21 am
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:21 am
Just watched the video in the other thread about that drinking faculty member who said she was fine to drive because she’s in a Tesla. Like that makes a difference 
Got me to thinking. What would happen if someone was obviously drunk and, not only in their own self driving car, but in the back seat. And the car gets in a wreck or gets pulled over for whatever reason. With the police have a case for DUI?
Or even if they were in the driver seat and put it in self driving mode and were just sleeping.
Got me to thinking. What would happen if someone was obviously drunk and, not only in their own self driving car, but in the back seat. And the car gets in a wreck or gets pulled over for whatever reason. With the police have a case for DUI?
Or even if they were in the driver seat and put it in self driving mode and were just sleeping.
This post was edited on 1/16/26 at 8:27 am
17
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:24 am to LSUTANGERINE
quote:
in the passenger seat
You used to be able to do that but not anymore. That driver monitoring is too good. It would just pull over.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:24 am to LSUTANGERINE
quote:
Got me to thinking
Just stop
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:26 am to billjamin
quote:
You used to be able to do that but not anymore. That driver monitoring is too good. It would just pull over.
Did not know that. Let’s say backseat.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:27 am to LSUTANGERINE
quote:
Got me to thinking. What would happen if someone was obviously drunk and, not only in their own self driving car, but in the passenger seat. And the car gets in a wreck or gets pulled over for whatever reason. With the police have a case for DUI?
Yes.
States are already passing or crafting laws regarding this. You have to be able to drive.
Now its getting super complicated for things like Waymo's and Tesla taxis. I haven't kept up with what States are doing with that
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:28 am to Fun Bunch
quote:
Yes. States are already passing or crafting laws regarding this. You have to be able to drive.
That doesn’t seem fair.
As long as the person is not driving and maybe in the backseat. What’s the difference in taking one of those driverless taxis?
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:28 am to LSUTANGERINE
quote:
Did not know that. Let’s say backseat.
Same result. It’s looking for an awake and engaged driver in the driver seat. It can track your eye movement, head direction, mouth movement, etc. it’ll know pretty quick. You used to be able to fool the steering wheel sensor with a weight but that doesn’t work with the camera AI now.
ETA. This came up in another thread. How good is the driver activity monitoring? They know if you’re getting road head.
This post was edited on 1/16/26 at 8:30 am
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:29 am to LSUTANGERINE
I can’t wait for self driving cars that can actually serve as chauffeurs. It will kill Uber and the entire taxi industry but will allow everyone to actually go enjoy several adult beverages and not have to worry about out how they are getting home.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:29 am to billjamin
quote:
Same result. It’s looking for an awake and engaged driver in the driver seat. It can track your eye movement, head direction, mouth movement, etc. it’ll know pretty quick. You used to be able to fool the steering wheel sensor with a weight but that doesn’t work with the camera AI now.
Even in the backseat? Well then what’s the use of a driverless car? Who’s it going to drive?
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:29 am to LSUTANGERINE
what probable cause are they pulling you over for? If self driving is so good, it should stay between the lines, follow all traffic laws and detect if you have a headlight of tail light out.
Just tape the license, registration and proof of insurance on the drivers glass and refuse to open the window at a sobriety check point.
Just tape the license, registration and proof of insurance on the drivers glass and refuse to open the window at a sobriety check point.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:31 am to LSUTANGERINE
quote:
As long as the person is not driving and maybe in the backseat. What’s the difference in taking one of those driverless taxis?
The law in general does not trust the technology. You have to be functional and able to take over if necessary.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:34 am to ruzil
quote:
Just tape the license, registration and proof of insurance on the drivers glass and refuse to open the window at a sobriety check point.
Yeah, you do that and check back to let us know how that worked out for you.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:38 am to LSUTANGERINE
Does a self driving car pull over for police?
I van tell us this, I dam sure wouldn't sit behind the wheel if approaching a dui checkpoint.
I van tell us this, I dam sure wouldn't sit behind the wheel if approaching a dui checkpoint.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:42 am to LSUTANGERINE
quote:
Got me to thinking. What would happen if someone was obviously drunk and, not only in their own self driving car, but in the back seat. And the car gets in a wreck or gets pulled over for whatever reason. With the police have a case for DUI?
I'm sure most states haven't updated their laws for this.
The Cadillacs, GMCs, and Denalis with the Super Cruise system will not operate if someone isn't in the driver's seat. It periodically checks that the person in that seat is awake (I think it is smart enough to recognize if a person's eyes are closed, if they are using their seatbelt, and checks every couple of minutes for them being awake). Technically I think it could handle most routes, but the lawyers at that company have clearly influenced the programming and hardware decisions.
I think Tesla's system works in a similar way but is more ballsy from a legal standpoint. 'm sure that it could handle a long distance with no driver at all if allowed. May run into trouble with curb cuts, alleys, or driveways but so would a sober teenaged girl. Even in most Teslas, I think the car also knows if someone is in the operator's seat and if they are alert.
And there's always the risk that a cop sees a "driver" passed out in the passenger seat, but how do they pull the darn thing over?
Now Waymo is a different story. Zoox would be too if they ever figured out how to make the tech work. Those vehicles are for hire, and drunk college kids and tourists in places like Vegas are a big part of their future market.
Here is an example of a 2021 Cadillac that has an optics feature built into the steering wheel. Notice the green light at the top of the steering wheel to indicate that the system is active. The tiny black monitor device below it, right above the air bag is what periodically scans the driver being awake and not asleep or having a newspaper in front of their face - it can detect the heat signature of a person, and it can't be tricked easily with an Airplane! style blow up doll. Supposedly it can see through polarized sunglasses too.
I could be wrong because this tech is moving so damn fast right now.
I'm fairly certain that Tesla has a similar driver monitor system, but IMO it's a bit cleaner looking and less "lawyer engineered" than the Cadillac system.
I also think that Cadillac/GMC advertise what their system can do very clearly while Tesla tends to under sell the full capabilities once they become available (meaning the Teslas can do a little more than what is advertised), and Teslas seem to be updated more regularly.
I do think we are at a point right now where these systems likely could technically drive people to and from most addresses without any input though. There are legal and regulatory hurdles that would have to change for that full self driving tech to be available for use without any operator in private motor vehicles. I'm sure that we will see these hurdles removed in many places within the next couple of years in some states though.
I think Tesla is the leader right now, with GM being second best. GM has a slightly smoother approach with the lidar mapping and onboard systems working together (slightly better hardware platform), but they limit themselves to use on highways and major roads, state routes, etc. and not secondary streets. Telsa will just roll on any public road which is fricking awesome and ballsy IMO. You could have your Tesla drive down a residential street and watch it dodge parked cars and stray dogs.
Once you pull onto a residential street, the Cadillac will start warning and buzzing you to put your hands on the wheel at that point and to find your own damn driveway.
BMW, Hyundai, and Ford are not far behind GMC/Cadillac. Which makes sense considering they are massive companies with a huge R&D budget.
I think the smaller companies like Mazda or Nissan are investing in this space but aren't as polished as the other options yet.
I have no idea what Lucid and Rivian are doing. I really don't follow them very much except one of my neighbors has a Lucid. It's a sweet looking car.
I guess my age will show with this. I'm not sure if I'd trust any system to drive me home completely without at least passively monitoring it in places like south Louisiana (with so many shitty roads/bridges, faded pavement markings, road debris, and bodies of water to drive into) or Pittsburgh (with cliffs and equally shitty roads/bridges).
What I'd like to see is for heavy trucks to be outfitted with tech like Tesla's autopilot or GM's Super Cruise. Then we slowly phase in extended driving hours for freight haulers that are using these automated cruise systems, since it will reduce fatigue and improve their driving performance even when they are tired or frustrated with traffic.
This post was edited on 1/16/26 at 9:04 am
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:43 am to LSUTANGERINE
quote:
Even in the backseat? Well then what’s the use of a driverless car? Who’s it going to drive?
No company has their permits for full self driving for personally owned vehicles.
Waymo, et al have level 4 self driving where the vehicle does everything, buts it's geofenced to a finite area of some cities and has a low maximum speed.
The technology and infrastructure isn't there yet for full self driving.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 8:58 am to KosmoCramer
And I've wondered why cars are more expensive now.
Could some company reinvent the family car to be simple: no electronics, no voice commands. Incorporate the safety physical collision features (the crumple engine compartment and hood, for example)?
Could some company reinvent the family car to be simple: no electronics, no voice commands. Incorporate the safety physical collision features (the crumple engine compartment and hood, for example)?
Posted on 1/16/26 at 9:01 am to Oilfieldbiology
quote:
I can’t wait for self driving cars that can actually serve as chauffeurs.
The tech is already here. Self driving Teslas (and I'm sure others as well) can already do this but its the legal aspect that is still evolving. Like others have said, it's illegal to be a drunk passenger in your own self driving tesla but somehow its perfectly fine to be a drunk passenger in a Waymo.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 9:05 am to KosmoCramer
quote:
Waymo, et al have level 4 self driving where the vehicle does everything, buts it's geofenced to a finite area of some cities and has a low maximum speed.
It's trippy as hell to see those little Jaguar E-Paces pulling up next to you at a traffic light and seeing that there's NOBODY IN THE frickING CAR.
And then realizing as they move along that they are better drivers than most people probably are.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 9:06 am to real turf fan
quote:
Could some company reinvent the family car to be simple: no electronics, no voice commands. Incorporate the safety physical collision features (the crumple engine compartment and hood, for example)?
I think the most simple car, given the increasingly tighter restrictions on internal combustion engines, will end up being a base model Nissan Leaf or something very soon.
Maybe a Chevy Trax or something already does that?.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 9:13 am to dewster
Reading all of that just makes me think of how less stressful most of the drive to Houston, Gatlinburg, Disney will be once GM rolls this down to the Tahoe. Wife loves the Tahoe/Suburban model, not crazy about the Denali - it's the idea of the "extra $$$ for the same exact thing"
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