Man testing self-driving car goes viral after video captures it driving straight into a cop car
Published on Sep 03, 2026 at 5:23 AM (UTC-4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Sep 08, 2026 at 10:05 AM (UTC-4)
Edited by
Daisy Edwards
A man testing a self-driving car, with technology he developed himself, has gone viral after it ran into a cop car.
Footage of Ehsan Zafar operating his self-driving car has been shared widely after the test backfired.
In the footage, Zafar is seen letting the car take control before it ends up crashing into a police vehicle.
Journalist Muhammad Aalijah had been invited on board the car to film the test. He probably didn’t expect to be involved in a collision with a police van.
What actually happened in the collision?
Technology and computer enthusiast Ehasan Zafar was the man who had produced the self-driving vehicle software.
Journalist Muhammad Aalijah had been invited along to experience his work and to see what it could do.
At the start of the viral footage, Aalijah is explaining the car’s features.
He then realizes it is about to collide with a police vehicle.
In the video, the car suddenly starts steering itself towards a parked cop car, and Aalijah has to reach for the handbrake.
He yanked on the handbrake to try to stop the car, but it was too late.
The car crunched into the side of the pickup, and a policeman can then be seen exiting the truck.
While he did yank for the handbrake, Aalijah was unable to grab it in time to prevent the collision.
Ana udible crunch is heard as he and the journalist hit the cop car, and a dent can just be seen in the pickup truck.
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How did the self-driving car crash into the truck?
According to Aalijah, up until the point the car turned towards the truck, everything had been working fine.
“Everything was fine until a technical fault occurred due to an internet disruption, causing the car to go out of control and crash into a police vehicle,” said Aalijah.
The car used internet access for its controls.
That minor disruption essentially put it on a crash course with the truck.
With it losing connection, it just veered off course and into the cop car.
🔴 Pakistan'da bir adam, kendi geliştirdiği sürücüsüz otomobili test ederken polis arabasına çarptı. pic.twitter.com/QSFgD4L1kM
— 3. Dünya Savaşı (@ww3mediaa) August 31, 2026
For Zafar, this had been his personal project, and he had been working on the technology since 2018.
Much of this had taken place in his own lab at home.
He stated that while talking to the camera, he had pressed the wrong command, which had cut off internet access and led to the crash.
The Islamabad Police said they won’t be pressing any charges and will just consider the crash a “human mistake.”
Self-driving cars have been under the spotlight in recent times, especially with Tesla stepping up its involvement in the technolgoy.
Many are still unsure of how much to trust the technology, and some accidents have been reported in the United States due to the system glitching.
Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a heritage steam railway.
