Mounties in British Columbia are once again warning drivers not to rely on self-driving technology after a Tesla owner was fined hundreds of dollars for apparently sleeping behind the wheel. The B.C. Highway Patrol says the incident happened shortly before 7:45 a.m. on August 27, when an officer spotted the vehicle in the morning rush along Highway 1 in Langley. A statement from police Thursday said the officer was responding to a priority call when he noticed the Tesla driver had his eyes closed and wasn’t holding the steering wheel. The officer “was forced to divert from the priority call” to intervene, according to the statement. “No matter what faith you have in your vehicle’s technology, sleeping while driving is illegal, and sleepy drivers are starting to divert police from other calls that they would rather be attending,” police said. The B.C. Highway Patrol shared video of the encounter, apparently filmed from inside the police vehicle. “The police officer’s observations and his body-worn camera appeared to show the Tesla driver was asleep, though the driver claimed otherwise,” Sgt. Michael McLaughlin said. “This traffic stop took a valuable resource away from another police call,” he added. “If drivers would stop sleeping behind the wheel, we could go help people who need us more.” The driver was fined $368 for driving without due care and attention, police said. He was also issued an $81 ticket for failing to produce his driver’s licence. Additional officers were able to respond to the initial priority call, which involved a man “with an extensive police history” who was walking along the highway, the statement said. “We can’t ignore drivers who are inattentive to this degree,” McLaughlin added. “The potential for serious injury or death is too high. If you’re sleeping, you’re forcing us to pull you over, and that means we’re going to leave you with financial consequences.”
