--- title: "Tesla Driver Pulled Over Going 93 MPH While Completely Asleep" description: "Canadian cops pulled over a Tesla driver going 93 MPH while sleeping. Find out why self driving mode may be more harmful than beneficial." date: "2020-09-17" modified: "2020-09-23" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-driver-pulled-over-asleep" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Health & Medicine" - "Sleep" - "Tesla" tags: - "autopilot" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Driver Pulled Over Going 93 MPH While Completely Asleep ![Canadian cops say they pulled over a Tesla that was traveling at 93 miles per hour — while the driver was completely asleep.]() *\Image: RCMP Alberta/Twitter\* ## Catching Zs Canadian cops say they pulled over a Tesla that was traveling at 93 miles per hour — while the driver was completely asleep, with the seat pulled down like a bed. "The officer was able to obtain radar readings on the vehicle, confirming that it had automatically accelerated up to exactly 150 km/h \[93 mph\]," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a [statement to *Global News*](). ## Speed Racer Tesla's "Autopilot" feature, which offers a range of driver assistance technologies like lane centering and semi-autonomous navigation on highways, has blossomed into an unlikely public health hazard, as more and more news reports emerge of drivers engaging it and then taking a nap or otherwise ceasing to pay attention to the road. One Tesla driver was [eating and drinking]() during an accident, another was [watching a movie on his phone]() when he smashed into several police cars, and yet another was [playing a video game](). ## Sleeper Hit The Canadian police are mincing no words about the latest incident, over which they charged the driver with speeding and issued a 24-hour license suspension. "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," RCMP Supt. Gary Graham said in a statement to *Global News*. "They are not self-driving systems, they still come with the responsibility of driving." **READ MORE:** [Alberta RCMP charge driver allegedly sleeping in a self-driving, speeding Tesla on Highway 2]() \[*Global News*\] **More on Autopilot:** [*Elon Musk Defends Tesla’s Misleading “Autopilot” Mode*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()