Spanish man posts video of himself driving from the passenger seat - gets six-month suspended sentence

A 20-year-old's idea of a viral video turned into a rather costly mistake

Spanish man posts video of himself driving from the passenger seat (Policia Nacional)

For one impatient and reckless driver, the wait for Google's driverless car was just too long.

In an apparent attempt to cause a stir on the internet, a 20-year-old man in Spain posted a video of himself driving his car from the passenger seat on a motorway near the city of Barcelona.

In the video, the young man is seen in his car apparently driving behind the wheel. Then, he turns the camera to the side to show that the driver's seat is actually across from him and he is only occasionally reaching across to move the steering wheel. The video even shows him overtaking a huge lorry.

While it evidently had the desired effect of proving popular online, the undesired consequence was that the Spanish police discovered the video and soon posted it on their YouTube page. They described the man as "irresponsible" and called for members of the public to work with them to identify the driver.

According to reports, the man handed himself in and he was given a six-month suspended sentence and he must not break the law again within the next two years. His license was suspended for one year.

All this comes on the day when the UK government announced plans to permit driverless cars on public roads by next year. Of course, the technology is far more sophisticated than a teenager and with a camera.