EVwire brief: Japan is reportedly preparing to certify driverless vehicles without steering wheels or brake pedals under a single, uniform set of safety standards, with the new rules expected to apply from December.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) plans to revise its vehicle safety standards and apply them to vehicles produced from December onward, Nikkei reported. Until now, each vehicle has been certified case by case. The ministry is set to discuss the plan at a vehicle safety study group meeting on November 4.
The new standards cover Level 4 vehicles, which drive fully autonomously under specific conditions, and Level 5 vehicles, which are fully autonomous everywhere. Vehicles certified under the rules won't need a steering wheel, pedals, rearview mirrors or a driver monitoring system (DMS), which cuts production costs and frees up cabin space for more flexible seat layouts.
Hat tip to Tesla watcher Tsla Chan, who shared this update on X.
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Crash tests with dummies will remain mandatory for vehicles that carry passengers, such as taxis and buses, while unmanned cargo vehicles are exempt from testing. Both types must still have safety measures that can avoid accidents if a system malfunctions.
MLIT is pursuing the change with mass production and the spread of robotaxis in mind, with the Japanese government targeting 10,000 Level 4-capable buses, taxis and other vehicles by fiscal year 2030. An MLIT official said the revision is meant to help Japan hit that number:
"We want to facilitate mass production and thus boost the achievement of our widespread adoption target."
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Context:
Japan's revision follows an agreement on safety standards for vehicles without steering wheels and other driver controls, reached at the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP29) in June. With those standards expected to become international standards in December, MLIT will update its own rules under the Road Transport Vehicle Act to match. Waymo, which ran field tests in Japan with Nihon Kotsu and GO in September, is also set to begin testing a Level 4 Toyota bZ4X fleet in the country in 2027.
The United States is not part of WP29's mutual recognition agreement, but it has been leading the development and commercialization of Level 4 vehicles. Tesla began running its steering-wheel-free Cybercab in its Robotaxi service in September, and Cybercabs now outnumber Model Ys in its Texas Robotaxi fleet. US regulators are adjusting their rules as well, with NHTSA recently proposing lighting rule changes for driverless vehicles without steering wheels.
Source: Nikkei
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