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

  • Make it easier to pay for parking, says AA
    August 9, 2017
    Seven out of 10 (70 per cent) UK drivers say they are more likely to drive by rather than park in a bay which requires payment by phone, according to a survey by the Automobile Association (AA). The AA-Populus Driver Poll of more than 16,500 members carried out last month, found that cash is still the preferred option for those looking to pay for parking. Despite their preference to use cash, around two thirds of drivers say that it is often a challenge to find the right change for parking, which may be due
    Read More
  • Lack of progress in reducing drink-drive deaths has gone on too long says IAM RoadSmart
    February 3, 2017
    The UK’s independent road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has expressed disappointment in yet another year of no significant change in the levels of drink-driving in Britain, based on new Government statistics just announced. The Department for Transport announced that provisional estimates for 2015 show 220 deaths in alcohol related crashes. Some 1,380 people were killed or seriously injured when at least one driver was over the limit. This represents a statistically significant rise from 1,310 in 2014. In
    Read More
  • FTA says new strategy for motoring agencies must improve service
    November 16, 2015
    The Freight Transport Association (FTA) says the Government’s consultation on a new strategy for its three motoring agencies is a positive step that recognises the challenges faced by commercial freight and fleet operators. The Department for Transport (DfT) is consulting on the strategic direction to be taken over the course of the current Parliament by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). Karen De
    Read More
  • Driverless car completes 286km road trip in China report
    April 18, 2012
    The newspaper China Daily has reported that last month a driverless car, a Hongqi HQ3 with full intellectual property rights developed by the National University of Defense Technology, travelled on an expressway linking Changsha and Wuhan, the capitals of Hunan and Hubei provinces, under full computer and sensor control.
    Read More

Highlighted Content