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UK Driver Banned for Riding in Passenger Seat While Using Tesla Autopilot Mode

posted by janrinok on Sunday April 29 2018, @08:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the my-invisible-friend dept.

takyon writes:

A driver using Tesla Autopilot improperly was caught on camera by another driver, leading to his arrest:

A driver who moved into the passenger seat after putting his electric car into autopilot while at 40mph on a motorway has been banned from driving.

Bhavesh Patel, 39, of Alfreton Road, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at St Albans Crown Court. A witness in another car filmed him sitting in the passenger seat of his Tesla S 60 on the M1 between junctions 8 and 9 near Hemel Hempstead.

Patel said he was the "unlucky one who got caught", the court was told.

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

Also at The Guardian.

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.

[...] 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".

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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 29 2018, @10:25PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 29 2018, @10:25PM (#673503)

    From the BBC article:

    A statement provided by a Tesla engineer said the autopilot was intended to provide assistance to a "fully-attentive driver", the court heard.

    Tesla should also be fined for not adding a safety feature that triggers the safe pull-over/stop if the driver's seat becomes empty. For fucks sake, they already have the weight sensor in both seats, they simply needed to use that data.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 30 2018, @06:25AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 30 2018, @06:25AM (#673614)

    It should pullover then stop just like SpaceBall1 did.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygE01sOhzz0 [youtube.com]

    • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday April 30 2018, @02:28PM

      by LoRdTAW (3755) on Monday April 30 2018, @02:28PM (#673740) Journal

      Just never play that part ever again.