Caught On Video: Driver Asleep At The Wheel Of Speeding Tesla On Highway, Police Say It's Not A Crime
NEWTON, Mass. (CBSNewYork) – A disturbing scene played out over the weekend on a busy Massachusetts highway.
A driver inside a self-driving Tesla was recorded while apparently completely passed out at the wheel of the fast moving vehicle.
Video posted on Twitter by Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) captured the dangerous situation play out Sunday on the Massachusetts Turnpike – as both the driver and another person in the passenger's seat were both unresponsive inside the car seemingly using Tesla's autopilot feature.
"It was just so strange and baffling" Randall told CBS Boston, after shooting the video while driving through Newton. "I thought I saw somebody asleep at the wheel, but I wasn't sure so I did a double-take. Sure enough there was somebody with his head right between his legs."
Randall told local media outlets that the allegedly sleeping commuter's car was going around 60 MPH at the time the video was taken.
The Massachusetts man added that he tried honking his horn to get the passed out driver to wake up but it didn't worked.
Massachusetts State Police told CBS Boston there's technically no law against falling asleep behind the wheel of a self-driving car.
While it's not technically against the law, Tesla's own website tells drivers to be awake and ready to take over for the autopilot at any moment. "Autopilot is intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any time," Tesla warns.
For more on this story, head to CBS Boston.
