© Unsplash/T.Wilink A driverless car on the street in San Francisco. For the first time in history: the UN adopted global rules for driverless cars Economic development
Ten years ago, the automotive industry was predicted to have a rapid and massive transition to unmanned driving, but those predictions have not yet come true. Today, a historic turning point has finally been reached in the global regulation of this area. The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), has approved the world’s first regulatory framework for fully driverless autonomous driving systems.
The new document establishes uniform international safety requirements and a common methodology for certification of such vehicles. The rules are based on the principles of integrated safety management. This approach is designed to build trust between governments, businesses and society, ensuring that automated systems meet the most stringent and transparent reliability criteria.
UNECE emphasizes the importance of harmonizing global vehicle regulations. By eliminating disparate national regulations, the international community is providing producers with clear legal guidance, consumers with confidence in safety, and the market itself with the ability to effectively scale innovation. The new rules will come into force in about a month.
Key elements of the new rules
- Safety management: manufacturers are required to implement comprehensive process safety audits throughout the entire life cycle vehicle.
- Test Requirements: All test sites, including virtual simulation platforms, must meet the strictest criteria for accuracy and reliability.
- Safety Case: companies are required to provide evidence that their unmanned systems do not pose unreasonable risks.
- Operational monitoring and reporting: ongoing performance monitoring and reporting is required real world safety checks.
- Data storage: vehicles must record all data relevant to safety.
Focus on safety
Regulations require the performance of self-driving systems to be equal to or better than that of a competent human driver.
Since the automated tool takes over control of all tactical and operational processes (such as steering, acceleration, deceleration, lighting, signaling, etc.), manufacturers are required to demonstrate to regulatory authorities the reliability of the design, the results of inspections and the ability to comply with traffic rules through virtual simulators, range tests and real-world tests. implementation
The developed regulatory framework takes into account various scenarios for the use of unmanned vehicles – from highways to urban environments – and allows the development of technologies without compromising the safety of people. Major automotive markets, including the UK, EU, Canada, China, USA and Japan, have supported these rules, indicating their readiness for their global implementation.
Adaptation of existing rules
Simultaneously with the new regulations, the World Forum WP.29 adopted amendments to approximately 90 existing UN regulations. These clarifications are intended to ensure that existing standards remain applicable to vehicles equipped with automated driving systems, including those without traditional controls (steering wheels and pedals).
As such, the regulatory framework continues to be continually updated and opportunities for the industry to develop innovative designs, including fully driverless configurations.