Driver appears to be sleeping in Tesla on Ontario highway, video shows

A video circulating online appears to show a man asleep behind the wheel of his Tesla with his seat reclined far back on Friday, as his car sped down the QEW highway in Ontario.

Posted by Louise Lesser on Instagram, she told Global News it was filmed around 7 a.m., as she was heading to the U.S. border.

“My boyfriend, who was driving at the time, noticed that the car near him, that he could see in his rearview, almost looked like there was nobody in it. And I didn’t believe him,” she said. Lesser said they considered calling the police, but couldn’t keep up with the vehicle or get a good look at the licence plate.

When asked about the video Friday, Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said that “Right now, as much as we enjoy technology in vehicles and we’re getting more and more features within vehicles that assist drivers, there is still the requirement for there to be alert, attentive and an eyes-open driver in the driver’s seat with their hands on the wheel, ready to respond... And that certainly isn’t what I saw in that video.”

Tesla’s autopilot system is meant to assist drivers, but not to render the vehicles autonomous, according to the company’s website. Drivers must agree to keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control before enabling the system.

Global’s Brittany Rosen has more.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/9102924/tesla-driver-appears-asleep-ontario-highway/

Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc
Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ
Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt
Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB
#GlobalNews #Tesla #Ontario