Apparently five incidents weren’t enough. Police in British Columbia have reported yet another case involving a driver allegedly sleeping behind the wheel of a Tesla with driver-assist features engaged.
The latest incident happened in Port Coquitlam, where the Coquitlam RCMP received a report last week of a driver who appeared to be asleep behind the wheel of a Model Y travelling with Autopilot engaged. [The press release says Autopilot, but we assume it was actually Full Self-Driving (FSD).]
The Integrated Road Safety Unit (IRSU) was called in to assist and managed to locate the vehicle, where officers found the driver was “sound asleep” behind the wheel.
Making matters worse, the driver was also still in B.C.’s graduated licensing program, holding a Class 7 Novice, or “N,” licence.
Police stopped the vehicle and issued the driver a ticket for driving without due care and attention, along with a second violation ticket for failing to display the required “N” sign.
“Drivers of all vehicles must be in control at all times when automated features are engaged while operating a motor vehicle in British Columbia,” Coquitlam RCMP said.
The Port Coquitlam incident adds to an unusual string of similar cases involving Tesla drivers in B.C. this year.
In March, a Model Y driver was ticketed after allegedly appearing asleep on Highway 1 in Coquitlam. Since then, drivers have been caught or reported allegedly sleeping behind the wheel in North Vancouver, Langley and between Golden and Revelstoke. Another Tesla driver was ticketed in West Kelowna after police spotted them reading documents while driving with FSD engaged.
The incidents have even attracted attention south of the border. Last week, U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi called on federal regulators to investigate safeguards surrounding Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD after an investigation identified 43 online videos that appeared to show people asleep behind the wheel of moving Teslas. It was unclear if any of those videos were of Canadian drivers.
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