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.
Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • January 20, 2016
    Car safety market worth US$152.59 billion by 2020
    The Markets and Markets report Car Safety Market by System Type (Active Safety & Passive Safety), Safety Regulations by Region (APAC, Europe, North America & Rest of the World), Impact Analysis (Overall Market OEM, Tier I & Consumer) - Trends & Forecast to 2020 estimates the market to be US$93.73 billion in 2015 and projects that it will grow at a CAGR of 10.24 per cent to reach US$152.59 billion by 2020. The market report defines and segments the automotive safety systems market with an impact analysis
    Read More
  • December 1, 2016
    Europe to test autonomous cars with motorcycles
    Following a letter written by motorcyclists’ organisations Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (FEMA), MAG NL and KNMV sent to the Netherlands Vehicle Authority RDW, expressing concerns about European type approval for Tesla, vehicle authorities will cooperate with motorcyclists’ organisations and conduct their own test program with different brands of semi-autonomous cars. A driver of a Tesla – and of an increasing number of advanced cars – can leave key actions to the vehicle, while in t
    Read More
  • August 20, 2014
    Google’s self-driving cars can ‘exceed the speed limit to aid safety’
    According to Google's lead software engineer, Dmitri Dolgov, the company’s self-driving cars are programmed to stay within the speed limit, mostly. Research shows that sticking to the speed limit when other cars are going much faster actually can be dangerous, Dolgov says, so its autonomous car can go up to 10 mph (16 kph) above the speed limit when traffic conditions warrant. Dolgov told Reuters during a test drive that when surrounding vehicles were breaking the speed limit, going more slowly could act
    Read More
  • February 1, 2012
    Legalities of in-vehicle systems and cooperative infrastructures
    Paul Laurenza of Dykema Gossett PLLC discusses the paths which lawmakers may go down on the route to making in-vehicle systems and cooperative infrastructures a reality. The question of whether or not to mandate in-vehicle systems for safety and other applications is a vexed one. There is a presumption on some parts that going down the road of forcing systems' fitment is somehow too domineering or restricting. Others would argue that it is the only realistic way of ensuring that systems achieve widespread d
    Read More

Highlighted Content