A driver who was filmed sitting in the passenger seat of his car after putting the vehicle into autopilot mode has been banned from driving for 18 months.
Bhavesh Patel, 39, was spotted leaning back with his hands behind his head beside an empty driver’s seat as his Tesla s60 supercar cruised at about 40mph along the M1 motorway near Hemel Hempstead last year.
The driver, from Nottingham, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving after admitting he switched seats when he turned on the car’s autopilot mode, leaving the car’s brakes and steering wheel unmanned.
The driver admitted that the stunt in May last year had been silly, but insisted that he was simply “the unlucky one who got caught” trying out the “amazing” feature on the car.
As well as the 18-month driving ban he was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also put on a 10-day rehabilitation programme and will have to pay £1,800 in costs.
PC Kirk Caldicutt, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire road policing unit, described Patel’s actions as grossly irresponsible and said it could have easily ended in tragedy.
“He not only endangered his own life but the lives of other innocent people using the motorway on that day. This case should serve as an example to all drivers who have access to autopilot controls and have thought about attempting something similar,” he said.
“I want to stress that they are in no way a substitute for a competent motorist in the driving seat who can react appropriately to the road ahead. I hope Patel uses his disqualification period to reflect on why he chose to make such a reckless decision on that day.”
Road investigators were told by Tesla engineers that the autopilot function, including traffic-aware cruise control and auto-steer, was only intended to assist a “fully attentive driver”.