Assisted driving ≠ autonomous driving. A driver in Shanghai bent down to pick up a bottle, causing a fatal car accident.

Although intelligent driving technology is developing rapidly at present, everyone must pay attention.All mass-produced technologies at this stage are assisted driving, not autonomous driving. Not long ago, the Pudong Procuratorate in Shanghai announced a case in which a driver blindly relied on assisted driving after turning on the assisted driving function, bent down to pick up a drink bottle while speeding, and failed to take over the vehicle in time, eventually causing a serious traffic accident.

CCTV announced the details of the case today. At around 10 a.m. on April 13, 2025, a traffic accident occurred on a section of Longdong Avenue from east to west in Pudong New District, Shanghai.

The vehicle causing the accident was a black SUV. As can be seen in the driving recorder video, the vehicle first drove quickly in the innermost lane of the road, and then suddenly crashed into a road maintenance vehicle parked in front.

Two workers who were removing warning cones from the rear of the maintenance vehicle were knocked to the ground before they could react.

After the incident, the driver Dong called 120 for emergency treatment. After 120 medical staff arrived at the scene, they sent the two injured to the hospital. One of the injured died on the same day after rescue efforts failed.

After identification, the vehicle's steering, braking and assisted driving functions were all normal, and Dong was ruled out for drunk driving or drug driving.

At the time of the incident, Dong was driving a vehicle at a speed of 83 kilometers per hour, exceeding the maximum speed indicated on the speed limit sign. He turned on the assisted driving function, but failed to pay attention to the situation ahead of the road, which ultimately caused the accident.

The police determined that Dong was primarily responsible for the accident due to his over-reliance on assisted driving, distracted driving, and speeding; the maintenance company was secondary responsible for failing to deploy safety protection as required.

The prosecutor solemnly reminded that all currently on the market are L2-level assisted driving, which is only an auxiliary function and cannot replace manual control.Once the driver is distracted, loses his hands, or loses his eyesight, it can easily cause a fatal accident, and the legal responsibility will always be borne by the driver.