Chinese Driver Misuses Vehicle Autonomous Driving Feature
Manufacturer: "Safety Regulations Must Be Strictly Followed"
"Killer on the Road" Flood of Criticism
A video of a Chinese man using the autonomous driving feature of his car to watch a movie and take a deep sleep has gone viral. [Source=Weibo]
A Chinese man has sparked controversy after it was revealed that he watched a movie and slept inside a self-driving car.
On the 13th (local time), the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on a video recently posted on China's social networking service (SNS) Weibo. The video showed the driver and passenger lying back in their seats inside a self-driving car speeding on the highway at over 110 km/h, watching a movie or sleeping deeply under a blanket. However, their identities and travel distance remain unknown. The video quickly went viral online, surpassing 46 million views.
The vehicle was confirmed to be produced by Zeekr, a premium electric car brand under China's Geely Group. The driver in the video appeared to be using Zeekr's proprietary advanced driver-assistance system called "Navigation Zeekr Pilot," specifically its highway navigation feature. SCMP quoted a Zeekr official saying, "Zeekr Pilot, which supports highway autonomous driving and lane changing functions, was launched in 2023 as a highway driving assistance tool." However, since it is not fully autonomous driving and still requires some human operation, the vehicle issues a warning if the steering wheel is left unattended for a long time. The male driver was found to have exploited this by placing a beverage bottle on the steering wheel to deceive the vehicle.
As the controversy grew, Zeekr's Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) stated on Weibo, "We appreciate customers' trust in Zeekr's smart driving features, but the behavior shown in the video is absolutely not recommended." He added, "While the system is designed to minimize driver fatigue, drivers must strictly follow safety regulations while using it." Chinese authorities also explained that depending on the severity of the case, the driver could face legal penalties such as license suspension, fines up to 2,000 yuan (about 380,000 KRW), or detention for up to 15 days.
Netizens who saw the video reacted with comments like, "I'm scared to encounter such a car on the highway," "It doesn't make sense unless he intended to die," and "What kind of reckless behavior is this, risking your life?"
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