Man Fined $200, Loses 12 Points for Wrong-Way Driving on Highway Due to Overreliance on Driver-Assist System

At approximately 9:00 p.m. on April 19, driver Zhou left the Jinshiqiao Service Area on the Hubei–Beihai Expressway in Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, after charging his vehicle, activating the vehicle’s intelligent driver-assistance system. Instead of re-entering the expressway via the correct route, the vehicle mistakenly entered the main carriageway in reverse via the service area entrance ramp, heading directly toward oncoming traffic and narrowly avoiding a head-on collision. The oncoming vehicle managed to swerve in time, preventing any injuries or fatalities. Footage from the dashcam showed that Zhou did not intervene in the vehicle’s operation at any point and failed to notice clear road signs indicating wrong-way driving. He only took emergency evasive action—sharply steering and making a U-turn back to the service area—when the oncoming vehicle approached closely. When questioned by traffic police, Zhou admitted he had relied entirely on the driver-assistance system and had not monitored road conditions. According to Article 90 of the People’s Republic of China Road Traffic Safety Law and Article 8 of the Regulations on Scoring Management for Road Traffic Safety Violations, driving a motor vehicle in reverse on an expressway incurs a fine of RMB 200 and an immediate deduction of 12 points from the driver’s license. Zhou was accordingly penalized; his driver’s license has been suspended, and he must retake and pass the theory test (Subject 1) to regain driving privileges. Currently, most intelligent driver-assistance systems available in vehicles on the market are classified as Level 2 (L2), capable only of assisting with speed and steering under specific conditions and not intended to replace human drivers. Highway traffic police in multiple regions have installed warning signs urging drivers to “use driver-assistance systems with caution,” emphasizing that drivers remain primarily responsible for vehicle control at all times and must maintain full attention and hands-on control, avoiding overreliance on or disengagement from these systems.