A video captured a driver appearing to be asleep behind the wheel of a self-driving car as it traveled on a busy highway in Sydney, Australia. The footage shows the man slouched to the side in the driver’s seat with his eyes closed. Another driver honked and shouted to wake him up, prompting the drowsy driver to jolt awake and gesture an apology. The white Tesla, likely in self-driving mode, continued driving at the speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour.
Tesla introduced its Full Self-Driving software in 2025 for eligible Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. However, this system is not fully autonomous but rather a supervised feature. In Australia, the human driver remains responsible for the vehicle’s operation at all times. In the UK, fully autonomous vehicles are expected to be introduced by the second half of 2027, despite the government’s delay in approving fully driverless cars.
The Automated Vehicles (AV) Act, enacted in May 2024, marked a significant advancement in the UK’s self-driving car plans. This legislation establishes that when a vehicle is in self-driving mode, the manufacturer, not the human occupant, is accountable for its actions. Safety concerns, influenced by incidents involving robotaxis in other countries, have led the UK government to prioritize a safety-centric approach to the deployment of autonomous vehicles.
Challenges such as regulatory complexities and public apprehension have hindered the progress of fully driverless cars in the UK. Although companies like Uber and Wayve claim to be technologically ready to launch driverless taxis, the lack of regulatory approvals has prevented these services from operating. Building public trust in autonomous vehicles remains crucial, especially as a significant portion of the population expresses unease about riding in driverless cars, according to a 2024 YouGov poll.
