Tesla driver banned for M1 autopilot seat-switch

Photo: Herts Police

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 was filmed by a witness in another car sitting in the passenger seat of his Tesla S 60 on the M1 between junctions 8 and 9 near Hemel Hempstead.

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

The court heard Patel told officers what he had done was "silly" but his car was capable of something "amazing" when he was interviewed at Stevenage Police Station.

He added he was the "unlucky one who got caught".

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

Mr Patel pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at St Albans Crown Court, he was disqualified for 18 months and must do 100 hours of unpaid work. He also had to pay the Crown Prosecution Service costs of £1,800.

Motorists WILL be fined for driving above 70mph on 'smart' M1 - 24-hours-a-day

Traffic cops have warned Sheffield motorists that they will be issued with fines for travelling above the 70mph limit on the new smart M1, 24-hours-a-day.

The fines can be issued even where there is no variable speed limit in place on the motorway as police warn they are intent on 'catching speeders'.

The M1 in Sheffield, between junctions 32 and 35A, was officially converted into a 'smart' motorway in March last year, following months several of engineering. The work created an extra lane on the motorway by utilising hard shoulder being for traffic.

Traffic flow on the smart motorway is controlled by overhead gantries which change speed from the national limit down to 30mph if there's traffic ahead.

Highways England says the changes will reduce delays on the 18-mile stretch of motorway, which is used by more than 110,000 vehicles each day.

Darren Roberts, manager of the Casualty Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST) for Derbyshire Police said prosecuting more people will held to stop speeders.

He said: "The cameras are not there to generate money “

The standard fine for being caught speeding is £100 and three points.

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Gridlock coming to a road near you this weekend!

This Easter weekend Britain is facing gridlock as engineering works on the railways and the Bank Holiday getaway coincide. 

As many as 16 million motorists are set to take to the roads over Easter, with four million traveling on Good Friday and 4.5 million on Easter Sunday.

'The first spring bank holiday of the year traditionally heralds the start of busier weekends on the nation's roads,' said RAC head of external affairs Pete Williams.

He went on: 'This Easter is set to be a hectic one with 16 million of us getting behind the wheel for an Easter break, but at least we will benefit from the longer days and lighter evenings to complete our journeys.' 

The Highways Agency is also maintaining 55 sets of roadworks over the Bank Holiday weekend meaning Parts of the M1, M3, M4 and M6 likely to be hit by lane closures or speed restrictions. ( they are lifting 62 roadworks temporarily to ease the congestion).  

The increase in the number of people planning to travel by car is thought to have been in part triggered by a significant shutdown of the rail network including the West Coast main line, First Great Western and Greater Anglia - forcing passengers to make diversions on slower trains or spend hours on the dreaded replacement coaches. 

Network Rail said engineering works were planned over the Easter holidays because passenger numbers fell by 20 per cent. 

In a move that has been described by an expert as 'adding insult to injury', Virgin Trains and London Midland have cancelled advanced cheap fares forcing passengers to purchase more expensive off-peak tickets. 

Both Virgin and London Midland say they cannot offer advance fares as the tickets would not be valid with other operators and replacement services. 

The gloomy weather forecast this Bank Holiday weekend will increase the traffic on Britain's roads as travellers go abroad in search of sunshine.

Figures from Gatwick airport show that more than two million passengers are expected to fly off for foreign holidays over the Easter break - a four per cent rise on the same period last year.

Almost 50,000 more people than last year have bought air tickets for travel over the Easter weekend compared with last year. Barcelona, Dublin and Malaga are the most popular destinations. 

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Hadsec3 Cameras to Enforce 70mph Limit on Motorways

New stealth speed cameras (Hadsec3 - Highways Agency digital enforcement camera system) are to be fitted along motorways for the first time. The motorways included in the plans are the M25 the M6 and the M1 with the busiest sections being targeted. It is believed that the cameras will be grey in colour rather than the bright yellow that is used for current SPECS camera systems that monitor average speed. The grey colour will make them harder to spot which critics say will do little to slow drivers down. The plans propose that the cameras will be running along more than 100 miles of motorway within two years, with the further roll-out eventually covering at least 400 miles.

The new speed cameras will be designed to catch people driving their vehicles in excess of the 70mph motorway speed limit. Previously speed cameras on the motorway have been situated mainly on stretches undergoing roadworks, in order to enforce variable speed limits for safety reasons. Some ‘safety camera partnerships’ have also used them from vans which have been parked on bridges over carriageways.

The Highways Agency who are the ones looking at the widespread introduction of the cameras say they will prevent jams and allow better traffic flow by controlling speed limits, this will work in combination with opening hard shoulders to traffic during busy periods. Motoring groups claim the introduction of cameras is not about road safety but about generating income through fines. They also insisted that the cameras were ‘not stealth cameras they are more visible that they were before. These motorways are not about speed limits. They are about smoothing the traffic flows and increasing capacity.’ They added that new cameras would be signposted and added: 'The onus is on the driver to abide by the speed limit.’

A recent poll in Autocar found that 94.6 per cent of motorists admitted driving in excess of 70mph while on the motorway. So it could be a great revenue stream!

It recently came to light that the Highways Agency launched a consultation regarding the speed limit on a section on the M1 between Derbyshire and South Yorkshire. It could see its speed reduced to 60mph for 12 hours a day - between 7am and 7pm - because of fears that congestion is reducing air quality and would be policed by cameras and police patrols.

Roger Lawson, of the Alliance of British Drivers (ABD) , said: 'We are opposed to speed cameras in general. The evidence of their success in promoting safety is not good and in reality what is happening now is that the police are using speed cameras to fund their other activities through speed awareness courses. If these cameras are grey rather than yellow they are going to be harder to spot and so will have no impact in slowing traffic down. If there is a good reason for the traffic to be slowed down then the cameras need to be as visible as possible.' The ABD has called for an increase in the upper speed limit on motorways to 80mph, it was considered by ministers but appears no nearer to becoming law.

Since 2010, some police forces have cut back on their use of speed cameras because the tickets can cost too much to process. However digital technology has made it substantially cheaper and easier to install, monitor and collect information from cameras.

Please visit our website to look at devices that will warn you about the presence of speed cameras www.Radar-Detectors.co.uk

Sources: Mail Online