The Tesla Cybertruck and Apple Vision Pro augmented-reality goggles both began to reach customers in the past few months, setting up a sort of doomsday event for early adopters of aesthetically unpleasant technology. The two products appeal to the same sort of near-futurist, so, unsurprisingly, someone has already been seen driving a Cybertruck while using the goggles.
As U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg notes, this is not something that you should do.
“Reminder—ALL advanced driver assistance systems available today require the human driver to be in control and fully engaged in the driving task at all times,” Buttigieg writes.
Hopefully, you do not need the Secretary of Transportation to explain why this is a bad idea.
Apple also notes that the goggles are not meant to be used while operating any moving vehicle, let alone a 6500-pound electric truck. Another driver filmed using Vision Pro goggles while driving a Tesla later admitted to the Austin American-Statesman that he was just mimicking use in a transparent mode “for five- to 10-second increments” rather than actually attempting to use the device on the road. Hopefully, this Cybertruck driver is doing the same.
Even if modern ADAS technologies were trustworthy enough to allow for a window to use an augmented-reality device on the road, there are a few good reasons to never do that. Vision Pro goggles require at least some use of a driver’s attention and hands, two things that are always supposed to be ready for takeover while using a modern driving assistance system that is impressive but nowhere near autonomous. Also, well, other drivers can see you.