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https://www.dongchedi.com/

Hi everyone, this is 程序员晚枫, and I'm currently all in on AI Programming Practice.

At the end of July, Dongchedi conducted a highly publicized autonomous driving test involving 36 vehicles and 15 extreme scenarios. The results were surprising — many vehicles marketed as having "advanced autonomous driving" features failed when faced with simulated pedestrians and construction cones.

The moment the show aired, the internet exploded:

"Didn't they say we could take our hands off the wheel? So it's 'assisted driving' again?"
"Are L3 and L4 actually reliable?"

This year, I happened to be working on global autonomous driving regulations research.

In this article, we'll use this controversy as a starting point to thoroughly explain the two frequently marketed concepts: "autonomous driving" and "assisted driving."

1. First, the Conclusion:

All the vehicles Dongchedi tested are simply vehicles with "assisted driving" features.

• Every mass-produced vehicle you can buy today (from a 4S dealership) — there is still no true autonomous driving.
• The features that caused problems in Dongchedi's tests are essentially L2-level "advanced assistance", not the "autonomous driving" that car companies imply.
• The dividing line between assisted driving and autonomous driving is not how flashy the features are, but who bears responsibility when an accident occurs.

2. A Table to Understand L0–L5

How exactly are "autonomous driving" and "assisted driving" differentiated?

The standard for classifying driving automation levels in China is: GB/T 40429-2021. It's important to note this is a recommended standard, not a mandatory one.

https://openstd.samr.gov.cn/bzgk/gb/newGbInfo?hcno=4754CB1B7AD798F288C52D916BFECA34

The levels worth paying attention to are L2, L3, and L4:

  • L2: Current assisted driving in mass-produced vehicles
  • L3: Autonomous driving under ideal road conditions — the feature all car companies are racing to implement
  • L4: The automation level of current robotaxis — not available in mass-produced vehicles
LevelNameWhat the System Can DoWhat Humans Must DoTypical Mass Production Status
L0–L2Human drivesCan only assist with braking, lane keepingMonitor at all times, take over anytimeWidely available at scale
L3Conditional Autonomous DrivingDrives completely within limited scenarios, but must alert the driver 5–10 seconds in advance to take overStay ready to "go online within 10 seconds"Beijing/Shanghai and other pilot cities just legalized private L3 vehicles
L4Highly Autonomous DrivingDrives fully within predefined areas, system has full responsibility, human may not need to take overOnly take over when system requestsRobotaxi, campus shuttle pilot operations, not yet for private vehicles
L5Fully Autonomous DrivingAnytime, anywhereNo human neededLaboratory stage

3. Why L3 Is the "Most Awkward Level"

L3 is unmanned driving within limited scenarios, such as highways with good road conditions.

However, according to national standards, this level has some insurmountable problems:

1. The "3-Second Deadlock" of Human-Machine Handover

L3 allows you to check your phone briefly, but once the system issues a take-over request, you must regain focus and take the wheel within 3–10 seconds. At 120 km/h on the highway, 3 seconds means 100 meters — most people simply can't react in time.

Reference: A recent incident where someone drove to another city for a civil service exam, used assisted driving on the highway, and crashed — the car caught fire.

image.png

2. The "Split Responsibility" Problem

• When the system is operating, accident liability falls on the car company;
• The moment the system requests a takeover and the human fails to respond, liability instantly transfers to the driver.
This makes car companies "nervous" — they'd rather lock features at L2 than risk implementing true L3.

3. Regulations Are Just Getting Started

On April 1, 2025, Beijing became the first city to legalize private L3 vehicles, limited to highways and urban expressways. There's still no unified national regulation — once you leave Beijing's Fifth Ring Road, the system downgrades immediately.

4. Why L4 Is Actually "Simpler"

Because of the shortcomings above, Baidu and Google Waymo chose to skip L3 and go straight for L4, and ended up moving faster.

image.png

• No humans needed: The system must handle 100% of scenarios, so it completely sidesteps the problem of "waking up the human."
• Controlled scenarios: Currently L4 only runs Robotaxi in pilot zones like Yizhuang and Jiading — vehicle speed, weather, and maps are all controllable, minimizing risk radius.
• Clear responsibility: As long as the vehicle is within the operating area, 100% of accidents are covered by the operator.

In fact, some U.S. state regulations directly classify a vehicle as "autonomous" based on whether it has a human inside. This is also the classification method I personally support.

5. Back to Dongchedi's Test: What Did It Really Measure?

There's been a lot of debate about Dongchedi's test — from initially praising it to now criticizing it online.

But I believe this test had tremendous social value:

  1. All tested vehicles fall into L2+ or L2.999, not L3 in the regulatory sense. So please don't completely let the car drive on its own!
  2. The test scenarios (static pedestrians, cone detour) exceeded L2's design boundaries — triggering AEB and the system exiting is technically logical. I have to admit, this aspect of the test was flawed; it demanded too much from L2.
  3. The greatest value is cooling down the market — bringing "smart driving" back to its true nature as "assisted driving."

6. Three Reminders for Consumers

Finally, as an industry professional, I want to give you some practical safety recommendations from a compliance perspective.

For those who have purchased a car with "assisted driving" features, pay attention to the following:

  1. Check the specs, not the ads: If it says "driver must be ready to take over at any time," treat it as L2.
  2. Hands off the wheel for 15 seconds and it will definitely alarm: Regulations require this — don't trust short videos claiming "zero interventions for the whole trip."
  3. Check regulations before buying: Currently only Beijing, Shanghai, and about 10 other cities have issued "temporary permits" for L3 — leave these cities and the feature downgrades automatically.

Dongchedi's "flop" test's biggest contribution wasn't embarrassing any particular car company, but reminding us:

No matter how smart smart driving gets, it's still a life-or-death "assistance" tool.

L3 has only just crossed the threshold of legalization, and L4 remains on the fringes of our daily lives.

Before true autonomous driving arrives, please keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

After all, systems can be rebooted — life can only be lived once.

Also, please go like Xiao Ming's Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) account below! I'm tired of working hard and want to be a kept man.

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