Man Banned From Driving For Sitting In Passenger Seat Of Self-Driving Tesla
He said he was just 'unlucky' that he got caught
A man has been banned from driving for 18 months after he put his Tesla S 60 into autopilot mode on the motorway and moved into the passenger seat while travelling at 40mph.
Bhavesh Patel, 39, of Nottingham, UK pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at St Albans Crown Court. He was filmed by another motorist.
The footage, which was handed over to the police after being posted on social media, shows him sitting in the passenger seat of his Tesla between junctions 8 and 9 of the M1.
Image and video credit to Herts Police via BBC News
Patel complained that he was just the 'unlucky one who got caught' during his court hearing.
He reportedly admitted to police officers that his behaviour had been 'silly' but also said that his car was capable of something 'amazing'.
A statement from Tesla said that the autopilot system was designed only to provide 'assistance' to a 'fully attentive driver'.
A statement from Herts Police said: '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.'
Patel has been disqualified for 18 months and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay legal fees amounting to £1,800, the BBC reports.
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Comments (39)
Hope autopilot gets banned soon, I can only dream of that
If he had been caught by police he should have been fined but since someone filmed it and sniched it to the cops its not Ok... Otherwise i Will film every infraction and nail everyone i dont like Just because
Some people have nothing better in there lives. I can almost guess the snitch in this case is a Toyota car, or kia driver who is grossly overweight and is a complete misery as a person, and a terrible driver who is oblivious to there...
Read moreAre you a fucking idiot 🤔
I have a relative that gets hammered at the pub and lets his Tesla autopilot drive him home.
Busted.
absolutely. I'd go further. I'd put him in jail for a couple of nights. About a year ago, in California, a Tesla crashed into a white lorry because its self-driving system had mistaken it for the clear sky. the "driver" of the Tesla was killed in the crash but no one else got hurt, luckily, as the driver didn't react because he was watching a movie or reading the newspaper or other.