A 45-year-old driver in Germany fell asleep at the wheel last Wednesday, and even though he had his Tesla on autopilot, he found himself in hot water with the police.
The vehicle was driving along A70 from Bamberg toward Bayreuth at about noon local time when police wanted to perform a traffic check, according to a news release from Bavarian State Police. The driver did not respond to stop signals or repeated horns from officers.
Still, the vehicle was steadily traveling at 68 mph and kept the same distance from the patrol car in front from the Viereth-Trunstadt junction to the Bamberg-Hafen junction.
“Officers found the Tesla driver was reclining in the seat with his eyes closed and his hands off the steering wheel,” police said in the news release said. “This strengthened the suspicion that he had left the controls to the autopilot and had fallen asleep.”
Police said after about 15 minutes, the man woke up, and followed instructions from officers, who said they noticed the driver displayed symptoms of being under the influence. Police said officers also found a steering wheel weight in the footwell. The device attaches to the steering wheel to trick the vehicle's safety system by pretending a driver’s hand is on the wheel.
Police said the man faces a preliminary charge of endangering road traffic and had to relinquish his license until a court hears his case.
Drivers of private cars in Germany are not legally able to use fully autonomous driving features and must remain in control of their vehicles at all times, according to SkyNews.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.