Two years ago, a small American start-up called Alpha Motor Corporation drew attention with its retro-styled coupe powered only by electricity. It showed a few designs and, by the end of 2022, was granted US Patent No. 11505265 for a Multipurpose Vehicle System with Interchangeable Operational Components and Power Supplies.

Alpha Motor’s vehicle system is structured with a chassis that is dimensionally adjustable and has the capacity to produce different iterations of vehicles. Components within the chassis are interchangeable with new counterparts while used components are recyclable.

In future, it will be possible to travel in a car without having to steer or control it. The technology already exists for what are known as autonomous vehicles. At this time, there are just a few production cars from companies like Tesla and Mercedes-Benz which have autonomous capability where the car is fully controlled by computer as it moves along the highway.

But while some countries allow such vehicles to operate – and only in specific public highways – regulations in Malaysia do not permit a vehicle to be driven without driver control. The present laws require the driver to be in control at all times.

So it is obviously a very serious offence when a driver decided to go to sleep and let his car drive on ‘autopilot’ on a Malaysian road This came to the attention of the police after a local DJ, Gatita Yan, uploaded a post on her Instagram page which showed her boyfriend, Tay Wee Shen, seemingly asleep with his hands off the steering wheel. Another picture also showed his feet not on the pedals, suggesting that the car (a BMW) was running with its cruise control in operation.