Hong Kong probes mainland Chinese driver for using banned autopilot mode in city
Transport Department says driver under the southbound scheme may lose eligibility after filming himself using automatic cruise control
Hong Kong authorities have vowed to investigate a mainland Chinese driver under the southbound travel vehicle scheme and may suspend his eligibility after he posted a video of himself using automatic cruising illegally in the city on social media.
The Transport Department said on Friday that it had issued a warning to the driver and had notified mainland authorities about the case.
It also urged Guangdong motorists under the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles (Entry into Urban Area)” scheme to use Octopus cards for car park access and payment, and to comply with local traffic laws.
A video showing the driver switching to automatic cruising in Hong Kong circulated on popular online platforms RedNote and Facebook.
In the video, the man was driving Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng’s P7 sedan on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. He took his hands off the steering wheel for a period while the car was said to be controlled by the Navigation Guided Pilot system, an autonomous driving feature.
In a reply to the Post, the department said that as driver assistance systems involved processing road information and traffic rules, any automated driving system not approved by the department must not be used on Hong Kong roads.