A Tesla driver in Germany has been accused of giving new meaning to “auto” on the highway, by putting his car under control while he was asleep at the wheel.
Police say the driver turned on his from Tesla autopilot function, reclined his seat and closed his eyes as he cruised along the A70 near the Bavarian town of Bamberg.
Traffic officers say they tried to stop the vehicle for a traffic check, but it did not stop for 15 minutes, despite repeated police honking.
In a statement, Bavarian police said: “It was noted that the vehicle kept the same distance to the patrol car ahead from the Viereth-Trunstadt junction to the Bamberg-Hafen junction at 110 kilometers per hour (68 mph).
“Officers found that the Tesla driver was lying in the seat with his eyes closed and his hands on the steering wheel.
“This reinforced the suspicion that he had left the controls on autopilot and had fallen asleep.
“After about 15 minutes, the man finally woke up and followed police instructions.”
Police say the 45-year-old man displayed “typical drug abnormalities” when approached by officers.
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The force also said its officers found a “steering wheel weight”, a device used to mimic the weight of hands on a steering wheel, in the floor of the vehicle.
Police said they had opened an investigation into the criminal offense of endangering road traffic.
The man was forced to surrender his driver’s license until he appeared in court.
Passenger car drivers in Germany are not legally able to use fully autonomous driving functions and must maintain control of their vehicle at all times.
In May last year, German lawmakers announced they had approved new rules to set the framework for driverless cars in the future, including allowing the use of driverless shuttles.
