SINGAPORE — The police in Malaysia have opened an investigation into a Singaporean couple who allegedly drove their Tesla electric powered automobile although on autopilot mode on the country’s expressways soon after clearing customs at the Singapore-Malaysia border.
Malaysian news portal The Vibes on Thursday (April 7) documented that investigations into the couple’s scenario are underway, saying there was confirmation from Mr Bakri Zainal Abidin, deputy director of Bukit Aman targeted visitors investigation and enforcement section.
Mr Bakri told The Vibes that the use of Tesla’s autopilot operate is “considered an offence less than Rule 17 of the Street Website traffic Procedures 1959” in Malaysia.
He additional spelled out that the regulation prohibits a driver “from becoming in a situation where they do not have acceptable control over a vehicle”, The Vibes claimed.
In a independent report by Chinese-language newspaper Guang Ming Every day, Mr Bakri also raised the problem of autopilot driving.
“Although there is at the moment no regulation (in Malaysia) that prohibits self-assisted driving, the procedure not only simply cannot hold the driver’s interest, but also are not able to detect no matter whether there is a driver in the automobile drivers may perhaps see a lot less highway conditions, but pay back more consideration to the method in issue,” he claimed.
“Thus, the use of computerized driving methods while driving is continue to prohibited in our nation.”
Tesla’s autopilot method is a conventional attribute that is mounted in the automobile.
It enables the vehicle to instantly speed up up to a pre-established pace as nicely as brake for other autos or pedestrians that it sees forward. The aspect also allows for minimum steering to preserve the automobile centred in a lane.
Technological innovation website Tom’s Information defined that the characteristic is built to “assist with the most burdensome areas of driving” — these types of as driving very long distances on expressways.
The challenge came to the fore after a movie was posted on TikTok by person “sgpikarchu” very last Friday — the initial working day of the reopening of land borders in between Singapore and Malaysia. The online video purportedly reveals the driver of the Tesla driving the car on a Malaysian expressway although on autopilot manner.
