New Zealand woman sends texts while ‘sleep-driving’

A New Zealand woman, who drove for hundreds of kilometres while asleep at the wheel, sending texts from her mobile phone along the way, is to be forbidden to drive, according to police. Police received an emergency call from a friend concerned the woman had gone out in her car after taking sleeping medication. Told that the woman had been sleep-driving ten months previously and had a fondness for the beach, police ordered patrol cars to keep a lookout for her silver hatchback and began tracking her via her
August 15, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A New Zealand woman, who drove for hundreds of kilometres while asleep at the wheel, sending texts from her mobile phone along the way, is to be forbidden to drive, according to police.

Police received an emergency call from a friend concerned the woman had gone out in her car after taking sleeping medication. Told that the woman had been sleep-driving ten months previously and had a fondness for the beach, police ordered patrol cars to keep a lookout for her silver hatchback and began tracking her via her mobile phone.

They said data showed the phone was on and she was sending texts as she drove from her Hamilton home to the beachside town of Mount Maunganui via Auckland, a distance of almost 300 kilometres.

After five hours on the road, she was finally found slumped over the wheel of her car in the driveway of a house she used to live in, with no recollection of her trip.

"We have sought an urgent order forbidding her to drive and to seek medical advice on her suitability to remain holding her driver's licence," senior Sergeant Dave Litton said.

Related Content

  • Less than 1% of UK drivers aware of hacking threats – new research
    October 31, 2018
    Nearly all UK drivers with keyless technology are unaware of the major digital threats posed by hackers, according to research conducted by MoneySuperMarket. The study reveals that 99% of drivers are unaware of security flaws such as phone phishing, where hackers send emails to drivers which contain malicious links that connect to a car’s Wi-Fi features and take control. MoneySuperMarket says 16% of drivers - or someone they know - have experienced car hacking. Also, eight out of 10 drivers do not k
    Read More
  • Promising results from latest German speed enforcement marathon
    May 21, 2014
    During the sixth German speed control operation North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, police found that motorists generally obeyed speed limits. Around 3,500 police officers and 300 employees of local authorities measured the speeds of vehicles over a period of 24 hours at 2,610 locations. Despite publication of the speed check points and the extensive coverage in the media across the country, 21,600 of the approximately 788,000, or 2.7 per cent, of car drivers checked were driving too fast. On a nor
    Read More
  • Asecap prepares for ‘interoperability on steroids’
    March 31, 2023
    The gathering of Europe’s toll professionals offers a chance for views to be exchanged by senior people on a number of big issues: and there’s currently an awful lot to think about, reports Geoff Hadwick
    Read More
  • Oregon trials road user charging
    February 11, 2013
    In Oregon, gas-tax money funds about 58 per cent of the budget used to take care of the state’s roads. As vehicles become more fuel efficient, the gas tax, which is 30 cents a gallon in Oregon and 37 cents in Washington, will generate less and less money. “If we’re using gasoline and diesel sales to fund our transportation system, we’re going to be in big trouble,” said Patrick Cooney of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Recognizing the problem early, Oregon started studying alternatives to th
    Read More

Highlighted Content