Kasaragod: Don’t drink and drive. A gas tanker driver took the message to heart while driving, and parked his vehicle in the middle of the newly completed six-lane highway in Kasaragod and went to sleep.

Motorists on the highway at Kumbla, Kasaragod, were left baffled late Friday night when they found a Bangaluru-registered Indane cooking gas tanker standing smack in the middle of the road, headlights on full beam and reverse light glowing. Inside the cabin, the driver had made himself comfortable, fast asleep on the bed.

The tanker, belonging to Indane (a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation), was empty and returning to Mangaluru after delivering its load of cooking gas. But instead of reaching home base, driver Balasubramanian from Tamil Nadu chose the highway median as his rest stop.

The National Highway Authority of India's surveillance camera caught the odd scene, and an alert was sent to the police. Sub-Inspector Vijesh and his team from Kumbla station rushed in, woke the driver, and took him into custody.

They also moved the truck to the side, averting a disaster. Balasubramanian now faces charges for drunk driving and obstructing traffic, with police saying they would recommend cancellation of his driving licence. The lorry owner has also been summoned.