On the morning of the 2025 National Day holiday, a sedan rear-ended a heavy-duty truck on the Jiguang Expressway section from Ganzhou to Ruijin, resulting in the deaths of three individuals. A recent accident investigation report released by the Ganzhou Emergency Management Bureau in Jiangxi Province revealed that at the time of the incident, the driver had activated the assisted driving function, but the vehicle did not effectively evade or intervene with braking against the stationary truck in front.
In the early hours of October 2, 2025, a Chang’an Qiyuan A07 electric sedan (Guangdong SDH6395), registered for just over a year, rear-ended a heavy-duty semi-trailer parked in the fast lane on the Jiguang Expressway, leading to the fatalities of three individuals in the sedan.
The investigation report indicated that at 3:54 a.m. on October 2, the driver, Mr. Zhang, departed the Ningdu East Service Area. At 3:59:34 a.m., Mr. Zhang voluntarily activated the IACC function, putting the vehicle in assisted driving mode. From 4:00:09 a.m. until seconds before the accident occurred, the driver did not press the accelerator or brake pedal. Throughout this process, the vehicle did not effectively evade or intervene with braking against the stationary truck in front.
Prior to the accident, the truck driver, Mr. Tan, ran out of fuel in the main tank due to not knowing how to switch between primary and auxiliary tanks. Ultimately, the vehicle stalled and stopped in the left fast lane. After stopping, Mr. Tan placed four warning cones behind the vehicle, but they were positioned within a distance of less than 45 meters, failing to meet the required 150 meters standard according to regulations.
The report concluded that the distracted driving by the sedan driver and the severe illegal parking of the truck both contributed to the accident, with both parties sharing direct responsibility for the incident. As the sedan driver had died in the accident, no further punishment was imposed according to the law. Currently, the judicial authorities have taken coercive measures against the truck driver.
On May 31, the topic labeled “Driver activates assisted driving for 40 seconds before rear-ending, resulting in 3 deaths” skyrocketed to the top of trending topics on Weibo.
Netizens expressed their concerns, with one stating, “A tragedy of 3 deaths caused by letting go for 40 seconds. Do not mistake L2 assistive driving for autonomous driving. To activate the assisted driving on the highway for just 40 seconds and then rear-end a illegally parked truck, resulting in 3 fatalities… At present, mainstream assisted driving technologies have limitations, especially in identifying stationary vehicles at night. Technology is only there to assist; holding the steering wheel and paying close attention to the road is the bottom line for safe driving.”
“All commercially available vehicles’ assisted driving systems are only at Level 2. Hence, human beings are the main drivers, and the system is there to assist. Drivers must always stay attentive, hold the steering wheel, and be prepared to take control at any moment.”
“At this stage, assisted driving is not autonomous driving. No matter how exaggerated the claims may sound, do not blindly believe in them. Claims like ‘let go and sleep as you wish’ are irresponsible advertisements.”