A man “driving” on a highway, switched on his supercar’s autopilot function and moved over and sat on the passenger seat, leaving the steering wheel and foot controls completely unmanned.
Filmed by a passenger on a car passing by, Bhavesh Patel, 39, was “driving” his Tesla S 60 on the M1 highway with his hands behind his head, and an empty driver seat.
The vehicle was estimated traveling 40 mph, due to heavy traffic because of congestion.
This incident occurred 5 months after he acquired the car.
Patel received a Notice of Intended Prosecution in his post after the video was shared on social media and later reported to the police.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in St Albans Crown Court, Nottingham, on April 20th.
“What Patel did was grossly irresponsible and 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.” expressed an investigating officer PC Kirk Caldicutt, from the (BCH) Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit.
“This case should serve as an example to all drivers who have access to autopilot controls and have thought about attempting something similar.”
“I want to stress that [smart cars] are in no way a substitute for a competent motorist in the driving seat who can react appropriately to the road ahead.”
Autopilot is a “suite of driver assistance features” it was intended to provide assistance to a ”fully-attentive driver,” stated a Tesla engineer to the police.
Tesla also said that drivers should “never depend on TACC (Traffic-Aware Cruise Control) to adequately slow down model S, always watch the road in front of you and be prepared to take corrective action at all times. Failure to do so can result in serious injury or death.”
Officer Kirk Caldicutt added, “I hope Patel uses his disqualification period to reflect on why he chose to make such a reckless decision on that day.”
Besides the 18-month disqualification, Patel was fined £1,800 from the Crown Prosecution Service, he is also required to serve a total of 100 hours community work, and decreed to carry out a 10-day rehabilitation.
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