‘Autopilot driver’ who sat in passenger seat while Tesla travelled on M1 banned

A “grossly irresponsible” motorist has been banned after he was caught sitting in the passenger seat of his car as it drove at 40mph on autopilot. 

Bhavesh Patel, 39, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after he was filmed pulling off the stunt on the M1 near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.

Patel, who has been banned for 18 months, activated his Tesla S 60’s autopilot function before changing seats, St Albans Crown Court heard.

The move left the steering wheel and foot pedals unmanned.

The driver later admitted to Stevenage police that he knew what he had done was “silly” but the car was capable of something “amazing”.

He added that he was just the “unlucky one who got caught”.

Patel, from Nottingham, had activated autopilot while the car was in motion on the northbound carriageway between junctions 8 and 9.

A passenger in another car spotted him and filmed his Tesla as it drove past at roughly 7.40pm on 21 May 2017.

The footage was posted on social media before Patel was reported to the police.

He received a Notice of Intended Prosecution in the post before being interviewed by officers at Stevenage Police Station.

As part of the investigation, officers obtained a statement from a Tesla engineer who described autopilot as a “suite of driver assistance features”.

The engineer added that the features were intended to provide assistance to a “fully-attentive driver”.

Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) assists with the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle while Autosteer provides assistance with steering.

Tesla states that drivers should “never depend on TACC to adequately slow down the model S, to always watch the road in front of you, and be prepared to take corrective action at all times”.

The manufacturer adds that “failure to do so can result in serious injury or death”.

Investigating officer PC Kirk Caldicutt 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.

“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 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.”

Patel was also given 100 hours of unpaid work, ordered to carry out 10 days of rehabilitation and pay £1,800 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.

(c) Sky News 2018: ‘Autopilot driver’ who sat in passenger seat while Tesla travelled on M1 banned