Police in Canada charged a man with speeding and dangerous driving after he was found asleep at the wheel of his self-driving car as it travelled at 93 MPH down a highway.
Police in Canada charged a man with speeding and dangerous driving after he was found asleep at the wheel of his self-driving car as it travelled at 93 MPH down a highway in the province of Alberta, according to The Guardian.
Announcing the charges, the Royal Canadian Mounted police said that on 9 July they received a complaint that a Model S Tesla vehicle was speeding on a highway in Alberta.
“The car appeared to be self-driving, traveling over 140km/h (86 MPH), with both front seats completely reclined and both occupants appearing to be asleep,” the RCMP said in a statement.
After the police flashed their lights, however, the Tesla electric vehicle reportedly sped up to “exactly” 150km/h (93 MPH), according to police. The speed limit on most of Canada’s highway network is 110km/h (68 MPH).
The driver, a 20-year-old man from neighboring British Columbia, was charged with speeding and given a 24-hour license suspension for driving while fatigued.
The proliferation of self-driving vehicles, pioneered by the electric car company Tesla, has posed a challenge for regulators trying to determine the safety and effectiveness of the on-board systems.
In January, an Ontario driver was charged with reckless driving after officers spotted him using both hands to floss his teeth as his vehicle sped along the highway at 135 km/h (83 MPH).
In the United States, officials are investigating a number of fatal crashes involving the “autopilot” function, including one in which the driver was using the feature to play on his phone.
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