Automated vehicles need ‘driving tests’

European Union rules on safety approvals for new cars will need to be revised to include ‘driving tests’ for automated and fully-autonomous vehicles according to a new report from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). ETSC says the EU is far from answering the many research and regulatory questions that must be considered before automated and autonomous vehicles can be put on sale. The report says the priority must be ensuring that the promised safety benefits are delivered in real world driving.
April 26, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

European Union rules on safety approvals for new cars will need to be revised to include ‘driving tests’ for automated and fully-autonomous vehicles according to a new report from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC).
 
ETSC says the EU is far from answering the many research and regulatory questions that must be considered before automated and autonomous vehicles can be put on sale. The report says the priority must be ensuring that the promised safety benefits are delivered in real world driving.
 
One challenge will be ensuring that autonomous cars sold in Europe are capable of following national road rules in 28 EU countries – hence the need for a comprehensive ‘driving test’ to independently verify that vehicles will operate safely under all conditions.
 
Many questions remain over how autonomous vehicles will interact with other human-driven vehicles as well as vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists according to the report.
 
Antonio Avenoso, ETSC executive director said: “Automated vehicles are already starting to appear on Europe’s roads, but regulators are still stuck in the slow lane. It is crucial that we get a much greater understanding of what the real world safety benefits would be, and what new risks would be introduced before these vehicles are put on sale.“
 
In the short term, ETSC is calling on the EU to require mandatory installation of effective and proven driver assistance systems including automated emergency braking and over-rideable Intelligent speed assistance in all new cars and to develop a new EU framework for approving future automated technologies as well as fully autonomous vehicles.
 
As well as safety approval rules for new cars, the report says EU driving licence regulations will need to be updated to reflect the need for drivers to learn how to safely take back command from automated driving systems. EU rules on road infrastructure safety should also be revised to include requirements for automated and semi- automated vehicles such as clear road markings.
 
ETSC also says carmakers must apply full openness and transparency in disclosing collision data for automated vehicles in order that the information can be used to help prevent future collisions. 

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • More than half of UK’s new cars sold with autonomous safety tech
    April 4, 2016
    Self driving cars may seem years away, but more than 1.5 million UK motorists a year now leave showrooms in cars featuring self-activating safety systems, according to analysis revealed by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

    Data from SMMT and JATO Dynamics shows that more than half of new cars registered in 2015 were fitted with safety-enhancing collision warning systems, with other technologies such as adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking and blind spot monitoring also surging in popularity.
    Read More
  • Growth of telematics-based pay as you drive car insurance systems
    July 17, 2012
    Car insurance made cheaper by telematics has returned to news headlines in the UK this year. Will it really take off this time and can vehicle tracking provide an effective tool for enforcing or encouraging insurance compliance? Jon Masters reports Will 2012 go down as the year that telematics-based car insurance took off? In the UK at least, a groundswell of new policies, with premiums priced on the basis of tracked and analysed driving style, suggests a turning point has been reached. Some would argue t
    Read More
  • La Sécurité Routière calls for self-driving cars to pass driving test
    April 11, 2018
    French safety agency La Sécurité Routière has proposed that autonomous vehicles (AVs) should be made to pass a standard driving test before deployment on roads – according to a report by The European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL). Through the proposed test, AVs would be set to autopilot mode and be required to participate in a driving examination. Manoeuvres, different driving speeds, parking and navigation would all be under scrutiny.
    Read More
  • Cut vehicle access to clean up cities: report
    October 17, 2022
    Communication of benefits is key for acceptance of LEZ deployment, says EIT Urban Mobility
    Read More

Highlighted Content