A young man from British Columbia is facing charges after RCMP say he appeared to be asleep behind the wheel of a self-driving car.

The incident happened on July 9th around 4:00 pm. RCMP were called when someone complained of a speeding car. The vehicle was headed southbound on the QE2 highway near Ponoka. According to RCMP, the car appeared to be self-driving and was going over 140 km/h, the witness also reported that both the driver and passenger seats were fully reclined and it appeared they were asleep.

When an officer attempted to pull the vehicle over, police say the Tesla automatically began to accelerate.

“The Officer was able to obtain radar readings on the vehicle, confirming that it had automatically accelerated up to exactly 150 km/h,” the RCMP said in a press release.

After pulling over the vehicle, RCMP charged the 20-year-old driver with speeding and a 24-hour license suspension for fatigue.

Further investigation of the incident has led to charges against the driver.

“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.”

After consulting with Crown Counsel, RCMP has beefed up the charges. The 20-year-old is now facing a Criminal Code charge of Dangerous Driving and has been issued a summons to appear in count in December.

 

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