[stdgy]

A co-worker and I were just talking about this. My take on the situation is that this could be partially alleviated if the car were to refuse to get off of the highway until after the driver manually took it out of autopilot. If the driver doesn't respond, skip the exit and stay on the highway sending out alerts until the driver responds.

Not exactly optimal, but I feel it may be the safest route. It would be interesting to see what other strategies people come up with.

[metric10]

It could also just pull over on to the shoulder and activate the hazard lights. It'll probably also sound an alarm in the cabin.

[cookingrobot]

Stopped on a shoulder is quite dangerous. Just staying driving seems better.

[metric10]

With an unconscious and unresponsive driver? Are you nuts?

EDIT: I have seen cars stopped on shoulders all the time. It may be dangerous compared to a parking lot, but this is an emergency situation. The driver is incapacitated and may need medical attention. I'll add that it should do more then run the hazard lights, it should dial 911. To keep driving means the car will run unattended for 200+ miles until the battery runs out.

[cookingrobot]

Not really an unresponsive driver - more like an unresponsive passenger. I bet a lot of people will fall asleep while being driven around.

[tfe]

And if the highway ends?

[ewindisch]

I envision a not-so-distant future where sleepy drivers wake up 5 states and hundreds of miles away from home. At least with Tesla, drivers might find themselves waking up at a Supercharger.

[JulianMorrison]

Turbo boost. As is traditional in self driving cars.