By now, you have probably seen that video of the guy driving a Cybertruck while wearing Apple Vision Pro and, if it wasn’t already clear enough, the US government has confirmed it does not want you to do that.
The Apple Vision Pro launched just last week — a mixed-reality headset that allows you to control apps, call friends, and browse the web with nothing but your fingers and eyes. In response to a viral video of a man using the headset in a Cybertruck, Pete Buttigieg, the US Secretary of Transportation, has reposted it with a warning to any potential owners looking to replicate it.
“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,” he stated. When driving a Tesla in Autopilot, the car could hand back control at any moment so obscuring your vision with Apple’s headset is incredibly reckless.
A bigger problem
Though Apple Vision Pro users have been up to some funny stuff over its launch weekend, this is not purely a Vision Pro problem and is not the first time that Pete has been critical of Tesla’s self-driving modules and how users may misuse them. Just last year, he told the Associated Press: “I don’t think that something should be called, for example, an Autopilot, when the fine print says you need to have your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times”.
No digital devices or distractions of any kind should be used while driving and this Apple Vision Pro video is just one of many very dangerous (and possibly illegal) ways to distract yourself while using a car’s assisted driving. Apple Vision Pro is designed to be used in a home or work environment, where you can physically place your windows and walk away from them. The entire UI isn’t designed to follow you, which is why you won’t even be able to use them in a quick-moving enclosed space like the Cybertruck properly. So not only is this dangerous, it doesn’t even work.
