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Tesla Autopilot v8.0 will make drivers stay awake

August 30th, 2016  |  Auto

The new Tesla Autopilot software promises to go a long way to improving safe use of the self-driving features by implementing an “abort procedure”. Autoblog reports that the procedure forces the car to slow to a crawl if the driver doesn’t respond to instructions to put their hands on the wheel within 15 seconds. Considering Tesla’s previous warnings that Autopilot should only be used when the driver is ready to take control, it’s possible the update will prompt drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel instead of catching up on sleep.

In the past few months we’ve seen several instances of Autopilot saving people as well as hurting them. A feature like this should eliminate accidents like the ones we’ve seen or at the very least force people to take responsibility for not paying attention to the road if they do.

The update will also give Autopilot-enabled cars to navigate freeway interchanges. With that addition Autopilot will move one step closer to level 4 or complete autonomous operation. Recently Ford promised fully autonomous vehicles to hit the road by 2021. While Tesla is currently has the most advanced driverless cars available, they have not released any timeline for when exactly Autopilot will offer fully autonomous driving.