{"id":131635,"date":"2023-10-05T15:30:45","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T15:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=131635"},"modified":"2023-10-05T15:30:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T15:30:45","slug":"could-your-electric-car-kidnap-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/could-your-electric-car-kidnap-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Could YOUR electric car kidnap you?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Could your EV kidnap YOU? As a terrified motorist, 53, reveals his new electric car &#8216;began driving itself&#8217;, experts reveal whether the same could happen to you<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span>\u00a330,000 MG ZS electric\u00a0vehicle\u00a0wouldn&#8217;t stop when the driver hit the brakes<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Experts speculate what caused the issue and if it could happen to other users<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A Scottish man felt like he was being &#8216;kidnapped&#8217; when his electric vehicle (EV) appeared to develop a mind of its own at the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Brian Morrison, 53, was heading home from work when his \u00a330,000 MG ZS suffered a &#8216;catastrophic malfunction&#8217; on the A803 towards Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He was left terrified when\u00a0<span>the brake pedals stopped working and the car \u2013 which is designed and built in China\u00a0\u2013 began driving itself at 30mph.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Because he has mobility issues, Mr Morrison was unable to jump out of the car, which only came to a stop after it was deliberately driven into a police van.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Thankfully no-one was hurt &#8211; but the incident has raised questions of whether the same issue could affect other EV users.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to MailOnline, Professor Roberto Metere, a computer scientist and security lecturer at the University of York, said: &#8216;It&#8217;s a rare yet potential danger that could very much happen to other drivers.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/05\/11\/76148993-12597111-Brian_Morrison_53_is_pictured_with_the_MG_ZS_EV_which_costs_30_0-m-13_1696500755785.jpg\" height=\"535\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Brian Morrison, 53, was heading home from work when his \u00a330,000 MG ZS suffered a &#8216;catastrophic malfunction&#8217; on the A803 towards Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE\u00a0I was kidnapped by my runaway electric car<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/05\/14\/76149015-12597111-Brian_Morrison_53_was_heading_home_from_work_when_the_MG_ZS_EV_s-a-18_1696513223960.jpg\" height=\"183\" width=\"274\"><\/p>\n<p>Brian Morrison, 53, was heading home from work when the MG ZS EV suffered the &#8216;catastrophic malfunction&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Although it&#8217;s difficult to tell exactly what caused the issue, there may have been an issue with the &#8216;databus&#8217;, the EV&#8217;s communication system that transfers data inside a computer, or even a remote security attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;My best guess is that the car experienced incorrect synchronization in the communication between the main software system and the sensors,&#8217; Professor Metere said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;That could be caused by the bus communication system malfunctioning or being &#8216;overloaded&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The car couldn&#8217;t stop because such an error would not allow other commands to be sent to the main system, which could not process them.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unlike conventional petrol cars that use friction braking, EVs use a system called &#8216;regenerative braking&#8217; that involves the car&#8217;s computer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;In general, electric cars should be as safe as diesel or petrol cars in terms of their braking system,&#8217;\u00a0Amin Al-Habaibeh, professor of intelligent engineering systems at Nottingham Trent University, told MailOnline.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Electric cars have regenerative braking system to slow the car by absorbing the car&#8217;s kinetic energy to recharge the car&#8217;s battery; this could save significant levels of energy and make the car more efficient.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tom Stacey, an automotive expert at Anglia Ruskin University, pointed out that\u00a0all types of cars can suffer brake failures, but it is rare when they do.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Research has shown that electric vehicles are more likely to pass an MOT, which includes brake checks, than cars with internal combustion engines,&#8217; he told MailOnline.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;By law, all EVs will have a handbrake that is separate from the main braking system.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s unclear whether Mr\u00a0Morrison had this option.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/05\/15\/76149021-12597111-Police_bringing_Mr_Morrison_s_car_to_a_stop_after_the_terrifying-a-6_1696516467168.jpg\" height=\"614\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Because he has mobility issues, Mr Morrison was unable to jump out of the car, which only came to a stop after it was deliberately driven into a police van\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/05\/14\/76149009-12597111-Describing_how_the_incident_began_the_driver_said_I_realised_som-a-19_1696513223961.jpg\" height=\"419\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Describing how the incident began, the driver said:\u00a0&#8216;I realised something was wrong when I was coming up to a roundabout and went to slow down but it failed to do so&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE\u00a0Is YOUR electric car vulnerable to hackers?<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/05\/14\/74170973-12597111-Security_concerns_surrounding_electric_cars_and_their_infrastruc-a-20_1696513223962.jpg\" height=\"224\" width=\"274\"><\/p>\n<p>Security concerns surrounding electric cars and their infrastructure are multifaceted, experts explain<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Miri Ofir, director of R&amp;D at software firm Check Point, said modern cars are like\u00a0&#8216;computers on wheels&#8217; and contain bugs or glitches &#8216;like any software&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;There&#8217;s a chance that the vehicle might experience a system malfunction, either in its software or a physical component,&#8217; she told MailOnline.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Advanced vehicles nowadays possess autonomous driving features that manage critical functions like braking and acceleration.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;There could have been a malfunction in one of these systems and the car cannot recover from this state.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Gunwant Dhadyalla is director of Automotive Electronic Systems Innovation Network, a trade body that works on electronics in the car industry.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on BBC\u00a0Radio 4&#8217;s Today programme, he said electronic systems on cars are &#8216;very complex&#8217; and, despite &#8216;tremendous&#8217; amounts of testing, faults slip through the cracks on rare occasions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Nowadays you can find up to 100million lines of software code driving these vehicles, so the ability for a fault like this to escape is possible if your test systems are not really state of the art,&#8217; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Often what happens is when you test systems is you write your specifications of how you want things to work, and test against these specifications.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Mr Dhadyalla added that &#8216;complex interactions&#8217; \u2013 two or three things happening at the same time that aren&#8217;t anticipated \u2013 can the vehicle&#8217;s software to &#8216;misbehave&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>But ultimately it can be difficult to recreate the exact conditions that caused the issue in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span>&#8216;Those complex interactions are very tricky to create and then to recreate again to find the faults,&#8217; he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s the sort of thing that&#8217;s not necessarily isolated to electric vehicles.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/05\/14\/76201109-12597111-The_MG_ZS_is_a_produced_by_the_Chinese_automotive_manufacturer_S-a-21_1696513223963.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The MG ZS is a produced by the Chinese automotive manufacturer SAIC Motor, but it appears under the British MG brand<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/05\/15\/76155599-12597111-Mr_Morrison_s_car_after_being_brought_to_a_halt_by_police_follow-a-5_1696516463420.jpg\" height=\"745\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Mr\u00a0Morrison&#8217;s car after being brought to a halt by police following the incident in Glasgow\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8216;It is something that the electric vehicles industry needs to be aware of, because of the additional use of electronics and the higher voltage systems that cause new types of faults.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The MG ZS is a produced by the Chinese automotive manufacturer SAIC Motor, but it appears under the British MG brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>MG Motor UK has acknowledged the incident and will be investigating the cause of the EV&#8217;s severe malfunction.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, MG Motor UK said: &#8216;We have been urgently trying to make contact with Mr Morrison so that his vehicle can be fully inspected by our engineering team.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;We take this matter very seriously and now that contact has been made, we will be making every effort to resolve matters quickly and comprehensively for him.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>How environmentally friendly are electric cars REALLY? Experts reveal how they stack up against petrol versions\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>Electric vehicles (EVs) are often touted as an environmentally-friendly solution to the climate crisis, but one of Britain&#8217;s most famous motor enthusiasts begs to differ.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In an article for\u00a0the Guardian\u00a0published in June, comedian Rowan Atkinson says\u00a0electric motoring &#8216;doesn&#8217;t seem to be quite the environmental panacea it is claimed to be&#8217;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>EVs are powered by\u00a0lithium ions batteries which require &#8216;many rare earth metals&#8217; and huge amounts of energy to manufacture, he claims, citing research from Volvo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Atkinson &#8211; who is vocal of his love for cars and has a\u00a0degree in electrical and electronic engineering -said he feels &#8216;duped&#8217; by electric vehicles and thinks &#8216;keeping your old petrol car may be better than buying an EV&#8217;.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>MailOnline takes a look at some of the issues and speaks to experts to see if the green reputation of EVs really has been overstated.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-12597111\/Could-electric-car-kidnap-terrified-motorist-53-reveals-new-MG-Z-EV-began-driving-experts-reveal-happen-you.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Could your EV kidnap YOU? As a terrified motorist, 53, reveals his new electric car &#8216;began driving itself&#8217;, experts reveal&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Could YOUR electric car kidnap you? - bluemull<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/lifestyle\/could-your-electric-car-kidnap-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Could YOUR electric car kidnap you? - bluemull\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Could your EV kidnap YOU? 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