At about 8:30 a.m. on March 17, a police officer pulled up beside an electric car and observed a driver with her eyes closed and arms crossed while travelling eastbound on Highway No. 1 in Coquitlam in slippery, rainy conditions.
“The driver appeared to be literally asleep at the wheel,” said Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol.
“The driver said that she had ‘zoned out’ but was fully alert with her hands on the steering wheel. In-car police video did not support the driver’s claim.”
A Metro Vancouver woman, 37, was issued a ticket for allegedly driving without due care and attention under section 144(1)(a) of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act, carrying a fine of $368.
She was also ticketed for speeding against a highway sign under section 146(3) of the Act, with a fine of $138.
It’s great that we have tech now that reduces driver mistakes somewhat from what used to happen. It’s also bad in a way because you know this is just a person who got caught doing something like this (whether it was just losing focus a bit or actually sleeping), and lots of other people have managed to do it without incident. Which of course, will reinforce the idea in their mind that it’s okay to do it.