A driver in the UK has been banned from driving for 18 months after he was filmed sitting in the passenger seat of his car after putting the vehicle into autopilot mode.
39-year-old Bhavesh Patel pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving after he was filmed sitting in the passenger seat as his Tesla car cruised on autopilot mode.
The incident occurred in May 2017 near Hemel Hempstead on the M1 motorway in the UK.
Mr Patel admitted he had left the driver’s seat, leaving the steering and brakes unmanned, after he switched to autopilot mode.
A witness, who was a passenger in another car, filmed Mr Patel as the car drove past.
'Grossly irresponsible'
British authorities his actions as ‘grossly irresponsible’ and said it could have easily ended in tragedy.
Mr Patel reportedly insisted he was just trying out what he described as the ‘amazing’ feature on the car.
He will serve 100 hours of unpaid community service in addition to serving the 18-month driving ban.
He has also been put on a 10-day rehabilitation programme and will have to pay £1,800 (over $3200 AUD) in costs.
Tesla engineers told British authorities that the autopilot function, including traffic-aware cruise control and auto-steer, was only intended to assist a “fully attentive driver”.
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Innovation) at Deakin University, Sandeep Gopalan, who is a Professor of Law, says leaving a car on an autopilot and seating in the passenger seat is illegal in Australia.
“There is no law here that authorizes full autonomous mode. This kind of behaviour would be illegal here,” he told SBS Hindi.
The Tesla Model S vehicle's autopilot and auto steer function enables the car to sense surrounding traffic and steer without drivers touching the wheel. Source: AAP
Professor Gopalan has been monitoring the autonomous vehicles industry closely in Australia. He says it's time to make rules with regard to these emerging new technologies.
“We need to have clear legal rules enabling the development of autonomous vehicles.
“However, any rules making AV (autonomous vehicles) legal can only be issued after much more testing on how these vehicles perform in real-time driving conditions. We need a better understanding of what the risks are, and who should be responsible when something goes wrong,” he said.
