A video clip went viral on social media after a remote-controlled car crashed into a police van in Islamabad, reportedly due to a technical fault caused by an internet disruption. Journalist Muhammad Aalijah uploaded the video on his official social media account showing him seated in the front passenger seat of the car at Islamabad’s D-Chowk, which was being operated using a remote-control device connected through satellite and internet connections.
As Aalijah described the car’s features while it moved forward, the steering wheel, controlled remotely by an operator, suddenly went out of control, causing the car to bump into a police van parked along the road. The video also shows Aalijah pulling the handbrake in an attempt to prevent the collision, though his efforts proved unsuccessful. Since being uploaded, the video has been widely circulated on social media, drawing a mix of reactions and captions from users.
When contacted, Aalijah said he had been asked by technology enthusiast Ehsan Zafar of Abbottabad to report on his automated-driving innovation. He explained that everything was fine until a technical fault occurred due to an internet disruption, causing the car to go out of control and collide with the police vehicle. Aalijah clarified that his intention in sharing the video was never to defame or target the young man who owned and operated the car, stating that his sole purpose was to raise awareness and urge caution until new automated driving technology has been thoroughly tested, proven safe and established as reliable.
Aalijah noted that the incident occurred in a high-security area with very little traffic, adding that if the same situation had occurred on a busier road, the consequences could have been far more dangerous. He described the video as a responsible effort to raise awareness rather than an attempt to discredit the technology’s developer, emphasizing that experimentation should continue but only with safety as the first priority, particularly for automated systems reliant on stable internet connections that can fail unpredictably in real-world conditions.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
