BURST
A woman caught on video appearing to be asleep behind the wheel of her Tesla has been tracked down and ticketed by RCMP.
The driver was filmed by the passenger of another vehicle on Aug. 11 as they drove down Hwy. 1 near Mountain Highway in North Vancouver. The passenger called police to say it appeared the driver was asleep behind the wheel while the car drove on autopilot. The video can be viewed here .
The video provided enough evidence for the RCMP to find the registered driver at her home in Maple Ridge, where the 45-year-old woman was ticketed for driving without due care and attention, and received a fine of $368.
“Police will not debate the merits of self-driving technology with sleeping drivers. It’s illegal in B.C., and we’re here to enforce the law and keep roads safe,” said RCMP Sgt. Michael McLaughlin of B.C. Highway Patrol.
“Driver inattention is a major factor in serious and deadly collisions. You must be completely focused and alert when you’re behind the wheel of any motor vehicle in B.C.”
There have been several recent instances of Tesla drivers catching naps on B.C. roads.
Witnesses said a woman with children in her back seat was asleep while driving on the Trans-Canada Highway near Golden in July, with the footage going viral . In March, a woman was ticketed driving in the rain during rush hour on Highway 1 near Coquitlam, after she was spotted with her eyes closed and hands off the wheel. In 2021, another woman was recorded driving across the Ironworkers Bridge in Vancouver, rush hour, which also led to fines from police .
An NBC investigation from August found a least 56 documented incidents Tesla drivers caught sleeping or appearing be asleep while behind the wheel of a vehicle using its driver-assistance features.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has a scale of 1-5 for driver automation features, with levels 1-2 including things like automatic braking and lane assist. It’s illegal in B.C. to use any features that operate at level 3 or higher, which don’t require a person to drive.