EVwire brief: The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) announced the world's first global safety regulation for fully autonomous vehicles on Wednesday, June 24.
The new rules require automakers to adopt independently audited safety management systems covering the full lifecycle of an automated driving system. Manufacturers must also prove their testing methods, including simulations, are credible and that their ADS does not pose unreasonable safety risks.
Once deployed, automated vehicles will need continuous performance monitoring and onboard data recorders to support regulatory oversight. GRVA Chair Richard Damm described the rationale for why a legal basis is necessary in the age of autonomous cars:
The UN’s regulations set a high bar: an ADS must perform at least as safely as a competent human driver. Automakers will have to validate that through simulation, track testing, and real-world trials. At the same time, the UN updated around 90 existing vehicle regulations to ensure they also cover next-generation driverless vehicles, including those without traditional controls.
Backed by major markets including the U.S., China, the EU, Japan, Canada, and the U.K., the rules are expected to take effect in about a month. The UNECE, for its part, is optimistic about the new rules.
“By preventing fragmented national approaches, the regulation offers clarity for manufacturers, confidence for consumers and a pathway to scale innovation safely across markets.”
Dedicated driverless robotaxis are becoming increasingly prominent on public roads
Context:
The framework exists to end the patchwork. Self-driving cars have reached public roads city by city, yet every market wrote its own rulebook, and automakers feared a vehicle cleared in one country could be blocked in the next.
WP.29, the UN forum hosted by UNECE, spent close to a decade building the rules through its automated-vehicle working party, GRVA. UNECE called the outcome a turning point, stating that "the global regulatory landscape has reached a decisive milestone."
Here’s the UN’s full document about its new autonomous vehicle rules.
Source: United Nations press release, UNECE press release, the UN GTR on Automated Driving Systems, and UN News on X
DIG DEEPER: For the full picture of the self-driving race these rules will govern, get the Robotaxi Report and join 14,000+ EV & AV geeks.
