A motorist was fined for careless driving in Ottawa after being caught sleeping behind the wheel of a self-driving vehicle during the morning rush hour.
Police spotted the woman on Highway 417 with her eyes closed and her hands off the steering wheel, according to NOS Nieuws.
An officer driving alongside the vehicle used a bodycam to document the driver’s condition. The woman appeared to wake up only when the vehicle’s internal safety system alerted her to nearby traffic. The siren was not used during the incident.
The Ottawa Police Service confirmed the driver faces a fine of 490 Canadian dollars—approximately 300 euros—for careless driving. She also received six demerit points on her license. Under provincial regulations, this total is sufficient to trigger an automatic warning letter from the province.
Police highlighted the event on social media to remind the public that “drivers remain obligated to pay the necessary care and attention to traffic when they are behind the wheel,” regardless of autonomous driving features.
Officer Michael Fathi told CBC News that this is the first instance he is aware of involving a driver sleeping in a self-driving car in Ottawa. Similar incidents have been reported in British Columbia, including one case where a witness observed two children in the backseat of a vehicle while the driver was asleep.
While autonomous systems are designed to detect when a driver’s eyes are closed or when the steering wheel has been released for an extended period, the technology is not foolproof.
Fathi said that if a driver wears sunglasses, the cameras may fail to register eye movements.
“You still have to maintain control of your vehicle,” Fathi said, emphasizing that the technology is not flawless and has previously been linked to fatal accidents. In the Netherlands, as in Canada, the driver remains legally responsible for the vehicle at all times.
No. Law enforcement agencies in Canada and the Netherlands maintain that drivers must remain attentive and in control of their vehicles at all times, even when autonomous features are engaged.
The driver is held legally responsible for any accidents or traffic violations. Systems may fail to detect a driver’s state if they are wearing sunglasses or if the sensor technology is obstructed, according to comments made by Officer Michael Fathi to CBC News.
Many systems include cameras or steering wheel sensors designed to alert the driver if they become distracted or unresponsive. However, these systems are not perfectly reliable and do not replace the legal requirement for human oversight.
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