Pakistani journalist records demo of driverless car, crashes into police van

A video of a driverless car crashing into a parked police van during a demo is going viral on social media. The video is said to be from a demonstration in Pakistan, where the car reportedly lost control and crashed into the parked police vehicle.A video of a homemade driverless car crashing into a parked police van during a demo in Pakistan is going viral on social media. Credit: XIf you are a serial meme watcher or spend a fair amount of time on X (formerly Twitter), chances are you may have come across a viral video in which a driverless car crashes into a police van during a demo. Well, the incident happened in Pakistan, where, according to reports, the vehicle lost control and crashed into a parked police van at D-Chowk, near Pakistan’s Parliament House.In the video, the driver’s seat appears to be empty, while another person can be heard talking about the car. The person is said to be journalist Muhammad Aalijah, who can be seen sitting in the front passenger seat and recording the demonstration when the incident happens. The car was reportedly being operated remotely using satellite and internet connections, with its steering and other controls handled by an operator from outside the vehicle, according to Dawn. Aalijah can be heard explaining the car’s features as it moves forward. Moments later, the vehicle appears to lose control and continues straight towards the police van.Aalijah is seen trying to stop the vehicle by pulling the handbrake, but he could not prevent the collision. The crash reportedly caused minor damage, while no injuries were reported. Watch the video here: But what happened? Well, in another video shared online, the journalist explains that the car had been working normally until an internet disruption caused a technical fault. He also linked the problem to the rainy weather. Aalijah told the publication that he had been asked by technology enthusiast Ehsan Zafar from Abbottabad to report on the automated-driving project. “Everything was fine until a technical fault occurred due to an internet disruption, causing the car to go out of control and crash into a police vehicle,” Aalijah told Dawn. He said the sudden loss of connectivity during the remote operation led to the failure.According to Aalijah the video was intended to raise awareness about the risks of using new technology before it has been thoroughly tested and proven safe. He said the car’s system was not yet “completely safe and reliable” and warned that while the incident happened in a high-security area with very little traffic, a similar failure on a busy road could have “extremely dangerous, even fatal” consequences. He stressed that experimentation should continue, but safety must come firstMeanwhile, while fully self-driving cars are still not the norm, the technology has moved well beyond the experimental stage in some parts of the world. Companies such as Waymo are already operating commercial robotaxi services in the US, while Tesla is also continuing to work on developing its Full Self-Driving system. In China, companies including Baidu, Pony.ai and WeRide are also testing and operating autonomous driving services in several cities. However, these systems rely on extensive testing, advanced sensors, software and multiple safety measures. And despite all the progress, making a car safely handle unexpected situations on its own is still one of the biggest challenges for self-driving technology.- EndsPublished By: Divya BhatiPublished On: Sep 1, 2026 12:10 IST