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 adaptive cruise control illegally in the city on social media.
The Transport Department said on Friday that it would issue a warning to the driver while urging 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 one scheme driver switching to adaptive cruise control in Hong Kong circulated on popular online platforms RedNote and Facebook.
Advertisement
In the video, the male was driving a Xpeng P7 sedan, made by the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, 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 response 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.
Advertisement
“As Hong Kong’s traffic rules differ from those on the mainland, using this system may result in driving violations; therefore, such systems should not be used on Hong Kong roads,” it said.