Should You Stay Awake In A Self-Driving Car Or Can You Sleep?

Drivers have been dreaming of self-driving cars for decades. A way for them to get to their destinations without having to spend time and energy focused on the road (or other drivers). Maybe even catch up on some sleep while en route, much like early morning train commuters.

The thing is, while the future could very well see fully-autonomous consumer level vehicles hit the market – and thus providing opportunities for some highway Zs — some questions remain as to whether or not it's okay to do so with what we have right now. Do our modern self-driving cars have what it takes to keep us safe when we're not awake (or even just not paying full attention)? Are concerns about autonomous vehicle accidents and fatalities reasonable or reactionary?

To put it simply, sleeping behind the wheel of a moving vehicle is a terrible idea. Whether you're in a regular old human-driven car or something that claims it can drive itself.

Current self-driving vehicle technology — at least at the consumer level — is a bit of a misnomer in that the cars aren't fully driving themselves, so much as providing an advanced level of driving assistance. Tesla's own autopilot support page notes that, despite "Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability" being listed as features, the car isn't actually autonomous and that these systems are "intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment."

So no, you should absolutely not sleep when behind the wheel of a self-driving vehicle. One day, the technology may reach the point where we can climb into a seat, tell the car where we want to go, then take a nap (as in 1994's "Timecop," starring Jean-Claude Van Damme). But today is not that day, fully self-driving cars are still in the future, and sleeping behind the wheel would be exceedingly dangerous to everyone in the car, and anyone on the road surrounding it.

Even if you get lucky and don't end up in an accident, there's some uncertainty over the legal ramifications. At best, depending on the state and local legislation, you could be fined for reckless driving if found out. And if the worst were to happen, the penalties would likely be far, far steeper.