Video: Tesla driver fined after allegedly sleeping in moving car on Langley highway

A Tesla driver was fined after a BC Highway Patrol officer allegedly saw him sleeping behind the wheel on Highway 1 near 248 Street in Langley during the morning rush hour on Aug. 27.

The officer was responding to a priority call at about 7:45 a.m. when he apparently saw the driver with his eyes closed and both hands off the steering wheel. The officer diverted from that call to stop the vehicle.

Sgt. Michael McLaughlin said the officer's observations and body-worn camera footage appeared to show the driver asleep, although the driver said otherwise. The driver received a $368 fine for driving without due care and attention and an $81 fine for failing to produce a driver's licence under the BC Motor Vehicle Act.

McLaughlin said the stop diverted a police resource from another call. Other BC Highway Patrol officers responded to the original incident, involving a man with an extensive police history walking on the highway. He said sleeping while driving is illegal regardless of confidence in vehicle technology, and that the risk of serious injury or death is too high.