Skip to main content

Germany to require 'black box' in autonomous cars

Germany plans new legislation to require manufacturers of cars equipped with an autopilot function to install a black box to help determine responsibility in the event of an accident, according to Reuters. The fatal crash of a Tesla Motors Inc Model S car in its Autopilot mode has increased the pressure on industry executives and regulators to ensure that automated driving technology can be deployed safely. Under the proposal from Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt, drivers will not have to pay at
July 19, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Germany plans new legislation to require manufacturers of cars equipped with an autopilot function to install a black box to help determine responsibility in the event of an accident, according to Reuters.

The fatal crash of a 597 Tesla Motors Inc Model S car in its Autopilot mode has increased the pressure on industry executives and regulators to ensure that automated driving technology can be deployed safely.

Under the proposal from Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt, drivers will not have to pay attention to traffic or concentrate on steering, but must remain seated at the wheel so they can intervene in the event of an emergency.

Manufacturers will also be required to install a black box that records when the autopilot system was active, when the driver drove and when the system requested that the driver take over, according to the proposals.

The draft is due to be sent to other ministries for approval this summer, a transport ministry spokesman said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Xerox automates HOV/HOT enforcement
    May 27, 2014
    Counting the number of people in a vehicle has always been a manual task, but now Xerox has developed a real-time system to automate the process. Xerox has introduced an automated system that determines the number of passengers in a vehicle, enabling authorities to detect non-qualifying drivers using the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) and High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. Traditionally HOV/HOT enforcement has entailed local police visually confirming each vehicle has the required number of occupants and chasin
  • IRF presents road safety award to Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
    May 15, 2017
    The International Road Federation has awarded its annual road safety accolade, the Find a Way Award, to the Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The Find a Way Award was instituted as part of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 by IRF chairman Abdullah Al-Mogbel in recognition of the value of political leadership in driving road traffic injury reduction strategies. Korea has implemented a range of road safety measures, including the use of safety belts for all seat
  • Zenuity gets green light to trial self-driving cars on Swedish highways
    January 30, 2019
    Zenuity, a joint venture between vehicle solution manufacturer Veoneer and Volvo Cars, is to trial self-driving cars on Swedish highways at a maximum speed of 80km/h. Dennis Nobelius, CEO at Zenuity, says the vehicles will collect important data and improve the company’s safety functions to make unsupervised cars a reality. Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish transport agency, has approved the trials which will take place on the E4 between Stockholm and Malmö; Road 40 between Jönköping and Gothenburg; a
  • Plastic is fantastic for payment platform interoperability
    April 2, 2014
    The Sino Visitor Pass aims to promote trade between Singapore and China by making travel easier, as Jon Masters finds out. Singapore has notched up another first in transportation innovation with announcement of a dual-currency payment card in partnership with the province of Guangdong in China. From the middle of 2014, visitors to Singapore and Guangdong will be able to use a ‘Sino Visitor Pass’ to pay for use of public transportation among other things.