On Friday morning, a Tesla driver on a southern Ontario highway got a little too comfortable behind the wheel.
In a disturbing new video, a man operating a Tesla on the QEW in St. Catharines appears to be dozing off.
Around 7 a.m., a passenger in another vehicle captured the footage in the highway lanes headed into Niagara.
Louise Lesser claims she followed the car for several kilometres as she made her way toward the U.S. border. Say says he briefly opened his eyes due to the sun, but he kept them closed the entire time we were observing.
The driver’s eyes were closed for another 10 to 15 minutes. Then, as the cars got closer to Fort Erie, Ontario, she claimed he appeared to regain control of the vehicle.
She recalled that he opened his eyes and began driving himself closer to the bifurcation between Lewiston and Fort Erie. “Because we watched him speed by us and a few other cars.” She also claims to have seen a vacant child car seat in the back of the automobile.
Further, she describes the entire scene as “too unsettling to watch.” The number of online users who don’t think there is any issue with it surprised her the most.
As of 2019, driverless vehicles are legal on Ontario’s roadways. However, drivers cannot doze off while operating them.
OPP police were unaware of the incident
Sergeant Kerry Schmidt of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says that he is aware of the web video and worries that officers were not made aware of the event on the highway.
According to Schmidt, “We have not received an official complaint about it.”
“Seeing it on the video is concerning. The circumstances surrounding it are unverified. I don’t know if this is something that someone came across or if it’s a publicity stunt. Obviously, this is someone asleep at the wheel; apparently, not paying attention to what is happening in front of them is very concerning.”
Further, Schmidt says,“I am surprised someone would make this video as opposed to calling 911.”
“If this were, in fact, a person asleep at the wheel, I would be very concerned about what this vehicle might come into. The fact that someone is recording this rather than calling 911 is a huge concern for me right off the bat.”
Source: City News
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