Gatita Yan and her boyfriend got into trouble recently as the police are looking for them after a couple of Instagram stories of her BF napping while his car ran on autopilot mode went viral.
PDRM in Ipoh said that the couple will be detained if they were in Ipoh. Despite the news about the authorities looking for them, Gatita uploaded an IG story yesterday, thus revealing her location at a hot spring retreat in Ipoh.
Perak’s Chief of Police, Mohd Yusri once again spoke to the media yesterday (March 29) and revealed that they have yet to find the couple in Ipoh.
One thing for certain is that the police will issue a summon for Gatita’s boyfriend, Tey Wee Shen. But will Tey be fined for the offense of setting his car to autopilot mode? There are no specific traffic laws against autopilot cars on the roads in Malaysia, so are we actually allowed to set our vehicles to autopilot mode? (Assuming we can actually afford one car with such a function).
“Yes you can, but…”
In an interview yesterday, Yusri told the media that Malaysians are ALLOWED to set their vehicles to autopilot mode, with only 2 conditions for safety purposes.
“Strictly do not nap while the car is in motion, and keep your hands on the wheel.”
Yusri said that napping while your car is in motion and not having your hands on the wheel are considered dangerous acts, and illegal. If anyone is found violating the rules, PDRM will investigate the matter under Section 10 of the Road Transport Act 1987.
At the time of writing (March 30), Gatita and Tey have yet to respond to the matter, and none of them have updated about their location since. It is unclear whether the couple are still in Ipoh or have left for other states for their vacation.
Now that PDRM has confirmed that autopilot vehicles are allowed on the roads here, all we need to do is make sure we’re wide awake when the car is in motion, and keep our hands on the wheel. For the sake of our safety and others, it’s wise to stick to the rules.
