Police charge driver for being asleep at the wheel of self-driving car

Ontario Provincial Police say they stopped a driver on Highway 417 after an officer saw that she was asleep at the wheel. The OPP say the Tesla driver was seen with her eyes closed and her hands off the steering wheel while the car was moving slowly in traffic. She has been charged with careless driving. The law still clearly states that a driver has to be in due care and control of a motor vehicle, even if it's in self-driving mode. This is for obvious reasons, which are in case the self-driving mode fails or there's an emergency of some other sorts on the highway or the road. OPP tell us this is the first time in Ottawa they have laid a charge for this and it is a serious one. Careless driving can carry a $490 fine and six demerit points. What we've seen actually is these vehicles have failed and it's nearly caused collisions or in some cases has caused collisions. The driver has to be aware of what's going on in order to make sure that they can take control of the vehicle in such an instance. OPP tell us they believe the potential penalties for using autopilot functions without care are strong enough, but many drivers are still learning the rules of the road around this new technology. At the end of the day, we want to make sure that people understand that while this is a very interesting option to have on vehicles, you still have to maintain control of your vehicle. With more and more vehicles on the road that have self-driving options, police are hopeful people take their warnings seriously to always stay alert and awake behind the wheel. David Fraser, CBC News, Ottawa.