A Dog Was Spotted "Driving" a Car in Shanghai. Here's What Actually Happened.
On July 4, a 38-year-old woman in Shanghai's Xuhui District did something that made passersby stop and stare: she placed her pet dog in the driver's seat of her car, activated the auto-parking feature, and stepped back to watch — apparently hoping to attract attention on social media.
It worked. She got attention. Just not the kind she wanted.
The case might sound like a quirky social media stunt gone wrong. But it touches on something more serious — a growing misunderstanding in China about what "smart driving" actually means.
Your car is not as smart as you think
Every consumer car on the market in China today — no matter how advanced it sounds — is classified as Level 2 driver assistance at most. That means the system is designed to assist the driver, not replace them. Auto-parking, lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control — these are tools, not substitutes for human attention.
During auto-parking, the driver is still required to stay nearby, monitor the vehicle, and be ready to intervene at any moment. Handing that responsibility to a dog is not just absurd — it is illegal.
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When over-reliance goes wrong
This is not just about one woman and her dog. Accidents caused by over-reliance on assisted driving features have become increasingly common in China.
In April 2025, a driver in Pudong activated assisted driving, then bent down to pick up a drink bottle. The car hit two road workers — one was killed. In March 2025, a driver on a highway turned on "auto-drive" and fell asleep. The system failed to detect a merging truck in time. The driver did not react either.
The legal consequences of such incidents can be severe — civil compensation, administrative penalties, and in serious cases, criminal charges for dangerous driving.
Assisted driving is not autonomous driving. No matter how smart your car is, you are still the one responsible.
And please, leave your dog in the back seat.
Source: 新闻晚报、南方都市报
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