When Oklahoma drivers saw a car with someone behind the wheel in a deep snooze on the Will Rogers Turnpike — the first instinct was to beep their horn at him. Eventually, concerned drivers reached out to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and now, on a TikTok video that ended up with over 350K views, you can see the Kia maintain its lane on its own, with the focus of the people in the comments being complimentary of the car.
The driver was reportedly just from a 20 hour shift at his unspecified workplace. The number was so shocking that soon that was the second thing that everyone could talk about in the comments section of the CNN post. In a world where industry leaders are sending friends to space and taking over European cities for over the top weddings while people protest for more liveable wages — these complaints were not surprising.
The entire ordeal occurred a little past noon on Dec. 13, when drivers noticed the grey Kia on the highway kept swaying from side to side in its lane. Lt. Brian McSlarrow was ultimately the state trooper who was assigned to stop the Kia — which, at that point, was moving at a slow 40 mph on the road. Lt. McSlarrow tried to wake him up with a siren and eventually just opted for an emergency procedure and was able to get the driver’s car to stop without any harm caused to anyone.
The driver ended up getting a ticket and a warning. Hopefully, he can slow down with the work and not risk his life. But the story quickly turned into one about the car. Cars don’t always get on the news with good PR, so this is probably the best commercial Kia could ever hope for. Their lane assist button is now literally a lifesaver.
There are technically two lane assist buttons on the dashboard of Kia new models. There’s the KLA, Kia Lane Assist, which provides steering support and vibrates the steering when you veer off the lane. Then there’s LFA, Lane Following Assist, which centers the car and, in certain situations, also maintains cruise control. One thing’s for sure now, everyone can rest assured that they both work excellently.
According to KOCO, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol released a statement on social media that read, “Driving while sleepy is extremely dangerous and can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than driving intoxicated. Troopers regularly respond to serious and sometimes fatal crashes involving fatigued drivers. This incident serves as an important opportunity to highlight the very real dangers of driving drowsy.”
The thing everyone is waiting on, however, is Kia addressing this ordeal. They have been making commercials featuring the regular fare of showing a random celebrity driving a car from one point to another — just like every other car brand. But clearly, their features are not just like every other car. Now, granted, the commercial would be difficult to pull off. You’d probably need a room full of Mad Men types to figure out how to do it in a sensitive way that doesn’t encourage people to sleep behind the wheel, but it probably can be done.
As for the driver, he probably should just consider himself lucky he picked the right car.
Published: Dec 31, 2025 01:13 pm