Semi-autonomous driver aid systems are all the rage right now but they’re not without their critics. Many versions appear to allow loopholes where drivers aren’t required to pay full attention to the road. A new post online seems to indicate that Rivian might have a solution for drivers who don’t follow the rules.
Rivian’s Driver+ software is meant to reduce the workload on a driver so long as they remain diligent and ready to take over at any time. It includes adaptive cruise control, automatic steering, and even lane-change capability. In some preset circumstances, it requires drivers to take control regardless of traffic conditions.
One of those situations is evidently when going through a tunnel. A poster on Reddit, MrrQuackers, says that his Rivian mistook a bridge above the road for a tunnel and displayed the message “Tunnel Ahead Take Control” as a result. Wanting to see just how the car would react, he remained prepared to take over but left the Driver+ to handle itself.
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According to MrrQuackers, the car made it under the bridge without issue, but then Driver+ turned itself off. When he attempted to restart Driver+, the system said “Not Available Until Next Drive.” On a long trip or one that’s tight on time that could be a real pain. Nevertheless, it’s the same sort of behavior that some other EV automakers like Tesla employ.
As many commenters in the post mention, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software will do something similar if it senses a problem. “I did have a 15 minute stint where I needed to check my phone and get back with someone quickly. Not only did I get a “FSD not available for the rest of this trip”, I also got a nasty message that if it happened 4 more times, it would be disabled completely,” said one.
We reached out to Rivian to get more information on the situation and here’s what they told us: “Yes, that is an intentional feature of Driver+. If the system detects that your attention drifts away from the road, you’ll be automatically prompted to place your hands on the wheel to keep Driver+ engaged. If you ignore the alerts, Driver+ will not reengage until after the vehicle has gone into park. Driver+ is designed to support drivers and does not replace their attention, judgment, and need to control the vehicle.”
