What to Know
As a busy parent, we all have those moments in the car where we’ve just worked a 9-hour day and yet we still have to show up and drive our kid to their soccer tournament or a sleepover at their friend’s house who moved out of town a few months ago. We all get tired, and even though we might wish for those moments where we can catch an extra wink or two of sleep, while you’re driving a car is simply not one of those times.
A shocking video was captured of a woman in the driver’s seat of a Tesla on a busy highway in British Columbia who appeared to have fallen asleep behind the wheel. Someone in a neighboring vehicle was able to catch the moment, which was concerning in and of itself, but even more so when two children were spotted in the car!
So, this video is an alarming watch.
Say what you will about Teslas and the people who buy them, but this could be a new low. Originally posted on Facebook, this Reddit thread shared a video of someone driving on Highway 1 between Golden and Revelstoke in British Columbia. Basically, immediately you can see that the woman driving the car appears to be asleep in a self-driving Tesla while on busy highway.
The original post shared that it was “absolutely UNBELIEVABLE” what they just witnessed as the cars were driving at 100 km/hour, which is pretty darn fast. Plus, they said it was a “busy busy Summer Sunday” on the road and there were “2 children in the car.” Yikes.
As far as Teslas are made, there is a function called FSD or full-self driving, which allows the car to do anything from make lane changes to navigate other vehicles on the road, but it is always supposed to be used while under the driver’s supervision, per Tesla.com.
This video establishes that at that very moment, the driver was clearly not able to supervise anything while she was asleep!
A woman in a nearby car who was feeling carsick was shocked at what she was seeing.
According to Global News, Carleigh King was travelling with her family from Alberta to British Columbia on that Sunday afternoon when one of her kids started to feel carsick. After they pulled over to get some fresh air and switch seats, she started to not feel very good, so she began looking out the window and couldn’t believe what she saw soon after.
“I saw this car; my husband was passing this woman in a black Tesla, and I looked… I did a double, triple, quadruple take. I didn’t understand what I was seeing, and I said to my husband, ‘I think that lady is asleep’,” Carleigh told Global News.
They slowed down a bit and were able to note that the driver was “definitely asleep at the wheel,” so they called 911 right away, per Global News. They were able to reach the Revelstoke RCMP, which is the provincial police, so they could investigate and hopefully make contact with the person driving the vehicle.
Carleigh told Global News that the Trans Canada highway is “an incredibly busy stretch of highway” with drivers who can often be “unpredictable,” so “to see somebody fast asleep at the wheel with children in the car was absolutely mind-blowing.”
It turns out that a full self-driving mode is illegal in British Columbia.
Global News also spoke to Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with the B.C. Highway Patrol, who told the news outlet that in British Columbia, drivers are legally allowed to use up to a “level two intervention,” which is things like cruise control and lane assist, but “you cannot do a full self-driving mode in British Columbia.”
He explains that drivers have to be “awake, alert, in control, a hand on the wheel, feet near or on the pedals at all times.” Someone in this condition could definitely face getting a ticket and even receive a penalty point on their driver’s license, per Global News.
It’s a bit of a mixed bag in the Reddit thread, but most people tend to agree that falling asleep behind the wheel is a very dangerous concept. One person shared, “Not sure how the alerts are not waking them. They’re super loud. My theory is they’re bypassing the system somehow which is the dumbest thing you can possibly do.” Another person commented, “My question is, even if you could cheat the system, are you really willing to risk your life for a quick nap? Seriously?”
Someone else in the thread noted that things could get even more dangerous if this wasn’t a self-driving car. They wrote, “It’s better sleeping with FSD then sleeping without FSD!”
Another person fully faulted any Tesla drivers who are jumping at the chance to defend this kind of thing. Someone in the thread shared, “Tesla drivers defending this s— are insane.”
READ NEXT: Mom Allegedly Hit a Man Six Times With a Pickleball Paddle After He Criticized Her Son’s Game
