Tesla Driver Falls Asleep on Highway with FSD Engaged, Two Children in Car

Recently, an incident occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia, Canada: a Tesla driver fell asleep at the wheel after activating the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, with the vehicle traveling at approximately 100 km/h and two sleeping children inside. Witness Carleigh noticed the driver was clearly unconscious, immediately recorded video footage, and alerted authorities. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) stated they have obtained the license plate information of the involved vehicle and are actively tracking down the driver. Under local regulations, vehicles equipped with Level 3 or higher autonomous driving systems are prohibited from operating on public roads. Tesla’s FSD is classified as a Level 2 driver-assistance system, which requires drivers to maintain constant control of the vehicle at all times. This incident highlights limitations in Tesla’s driver monitoring system. Starting with FSD version 12.4 in 2024, Tesla has primarily relied on an in-cabin camera to monitor the driver’s face and eye movements. However, the owner’s manual explicitly states that this visual monitoring feature will not activate if the camera is obstructed, lighting conditions are poor, the driver is not looking forward, or if the driver is wearing sunglasses, hats, or other items that obscure the eyes. In this case, the driver was wearing large sunglasses, preventing the camera from detecting their eye state. As a result, the system reverted to an older torque-based detection method that only periodically checks whether force is being applied to the steering wheel—offering no confirmation of whether the driver is alert or paying attention to the road. Tesla also includes a fatigue-driving warning feature, which similarly depends on visual eye tracking; wearing sunglasses rendered this function ineffective. Previously, there were reports in China of Tesla owners placing plastic mannequin heads near the rearview mirror to trick the camera into falsely recognizing an attentive driver, thereby bypassing monitoring systems and allowing FSD to operate without supervision.