Earnest fines can turn into lengthy jail time for deliberately flouting local traffic laws.
Hear about the bloke penalised from driving in the UK after he abandoned the wheel of his Tesla Model S while on the M1 motorway?
British man Bhavesh Patel received an 18-month ban from driving this week after he switched on the Tesla’s Autopilot assisted driving feature before proceeding to vacate the driver’s seat and move across to the passenger side of the car.
Travelling at about 65km/h, the stunt was filmed by bemused motorists, Patel even having the temerity to put his hands behind his head at one point. The 39-year-old was slapped with an 18-month ban, 100 hours of unpaid work, a 10-day rehabilitation program and court costs exceeding $3250.
A quick perusal of YouTube reveals Patel is not the first to commit the crime, but what would have happened had he been charged for the same act in Australia? We’ve asked regulators in both Victoria and New South Wales, and the penalties range from serious fines through to lengthy jail time.
One thing is clear: without any existing legislation for a motorist to pass their driving responsibility to the vehicle, there is still a lot of confusion around the actual laws. Expect more change in this area as the technology becomes more prevalent in modern cars.
As such “current legislation and road rules apply to all vehicles, even those with some levels of autonomous function,” said a Victorian police spokesperson.
“There is no existing legislation that allows for a motorist to pass their driving responsibility over to a vehicle,” the statement from Victoria Police reads.
“Drivers must maintain full and proper control of their vehicle at all times, whether actively engaged in the driving task or whether the driver assist functions are engaged.
“Possible offences could include; failing to have proper control of a vehicle or careless driving which could carry a penalty notice fine of $238 and $381 respectfully or, dangerous driving which would involve the motorist being charged and going to court.
“The penalty for dangerous driving could include a maximum of two years imprisonment with a mandatory minimum period of disqualification from driving of six months.”
Citing the Road Rules 2014 legislation, a NSW police spokesperson said a driver is required to have proper control of a motor vehicle – and not doing so would contravene the Crimes Act 1900 around dangerous driving, Section 52A.
As with other Australian jurisdictions, there is currently no legislation in place in NSW around self-driving cars – but you can expect that to soon change.
Until then, these are the sorts of penalties that could be levelled at someone who hands over control to a vehicle, according to the Crimes Act:
“Dangerous driving occasioning death. A person is guilty of the offence of dangerous driving occasioning death if the vehicle driven by the person is involved in an impact occasioning the death of another person and the driver was, at the time of the impact, driving the vehicle: (a) under the influence of intoxicating liquor or of a drug, or (b) at a speed dangerous to another person or persons, or (c) in a manner dangerous to another person or persons,” the Crime Act reads.
“A person convicted of an offence under this subsection is liable to imprisonment for 10 years.”
Moreover, dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm can attract penalties of up to seven years imprisonment, while aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm is liable for imprisonment for 11 years.
For its part, Tesla has said its Autopilot system is designed to provide hands-on assistance to a “fully- attentive driver” – the traffic-sensitive cruise control handling distance control, acceleration and deceleration, and Autosteer providing steering assistance.
Similar software is also available in new vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW.
No doubt, this area of legislation is a moving feast. Watch this space…
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