Teen Gets DUI for Sleeping in His Self-Driving Car on Autopilot

Can you imagine driving and seeing some dude sleeping while his car is just driving down the road?

That's precisely what prompted loads of 9-1-1 calls.

Let's travel to Connecticut because that's where it happened in a self-driving Tesla.

According to the Connecticut Insider website, police arrested a guy who was sleeping in his Tesla while it was on autopilot driving down I-91, the longest interstate in Connecticut.

A 19-year-old slumped over behind the wheel of a Tesla that made its way down the highway on autopilot is believed to be the first of its kind in Connecticut. The New York resident is charged with driving offenses even though he wasn’t touching the steering wheel. That’s because the person in the driver’s seat is in control of the car — or at least is supposed to be.

According to the Connecticut Insider, if you have a self-driving car, you're absolutely allowed to put it in autopilot; however, you must be awake and prepared to hit the gas or brake at any time. In other words, you're still responsible for driving your car even if you're not literally driving it.

The arrest happened early Friday [April 18] shortly before 12:30 AM. 911 calls started coming in to the Troop H barracks in Hartford about a Tesla traveling far below highway speeds. More callers reported that the driver was slumped over.

The Tesla was in the center lane in Wethersfield, just south of downtown Hartford, with its hazard lights blinking. According to the Connecticut Insider, it was traveling at 25-30 mph on autopilot. State troopers had to pull in front of it and force it to stop because they couldn't get the teen's attention.

The 19-year-old did not perform well on field sobriety tests and was charged with operating a motor vehicle at too slow a speed, reckless driving, second-degree reckless endangerment and illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Active driver supervision is the law in every state, even when the vehicle is in autopilot mode.