Driver turned on 'autopilot' and sat in passenger seat with arms behind his head on M1

By The Newsroom
Published 28th Apr 2018, 16:07 BST
Updated 28th Apr 2018, 16:46 BST
Bhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car. PABhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car. PA
Bhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car. PA
A driver who moved to the passenger seat after switching on his car's "autopilot" feature as he travelled on the motorway has been banned from the roads for 18 months.

Bhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car.

While driving his white Tesla S 60 along the M1, Patel switched on the supercar's autopilot function before moving to the passenger seat, leaving the steering wheel and foot controls unmanned, police said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A witness, who spotted the vehicle with no-one in the driving seat, said they thought the car was going at around 40mph.

Bhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car. PABhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car. PA
Bhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car. PA
Read More
Full list of upcoming roadworks in Yorkshire - including on the M62 and M1

Patel, from Nottingham, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving over the incident on the motorway near Hemel Hempstead, in Hertfordshire, at around 7.40pm on May 21 last year.

At St Albans Crown Court on Friday April 20, he was banned from driving for 18 months, ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and 10 days' rehabilitation, and told to pay £1,800 costs, police said.

Patel told officers he knew what he had done was "silly", but said the car was capable of something "amazing" and that he was "the unlucky one who got caught".