An RCMP provided image of the Tesla as it sped up the QEII Highway July 9, 2020 near Ponoka, Alberta. (RCMP)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

asleep at the wheel

B.C. driver charged for sleeping in moving Tesla near Ponoka

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Two occupants of a vehicle travelling on the QEII Highway were allegedly asleep as it self-drove at 140 km/h.

Alberta RCMP say it was July 9 at around 4 p.m. when they received a complaint about a car speeding south on the highway near Ponoka. The car, a 2019 Tesla Model S, appeared to be self-driving with both seats completely reclined and the occupants having a nap.

An RCMP Traffic Services member located the car and activated emergency lights on their vehicle.

The Tesla then automatically began to accelerate and the officer was able to obtain a radar reading of exactly 150 km/h.

Once pulled over, the 20-year-old driver from British Columbia was charged with speeding and given a 24-hour license suspension for fatigue.

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Further investigation and consultation with Crown Counsel has since led to a Criminal Code charge of dangerous driving, and the man has a court date in December.

“Although manufacturers of new vehicles have built in safeguards to prevent drivers from taking advantage of the new safety systems in vehicles, those systems are just that — supplemental safety systems,” says Superintendent Gary Graham of Alberta RCMP Traffic Services. “They are not self-driving systems, they still come with the responsibility of driving.”