Germany will issue the world's first autonomous driving law, allowing Level 4 vehicles to take to the roads.

Recently, according to overseas media reports, Germany's Bundestag has approved the draft of the "Autonomous Driving Act," which will be submitted to the German Federal Council for approval on May 28, 2021. Once approved by the Federal Council, Germany's Federal President will sign the legislation and officially publish it in the Federal Law Gazette.

It is reported that, following approval by the Federal Council, Germany will become the world's first country to permit driverless vehicles to participate in everyday traffic and deploy them nationwide. Starting from 2022, the country will allow Level 4 autonomous cars to operate on public roads as well as in designated areas.

The specific bill indicates that, in the future, autonomous vehicles should be capable of achieving full self-driving functionality in designated areas on public roads nationwide—without the need for human drivers or safety supervisors. Meanwhile, the government should take further proactive measures to integrate autonomous vehicles and their supporting industries into urban development, fully leveraging the potential of these products and services. This approach will not only enable them to serve society but also foster societal engagement, ultimately driving technological advancement.

Specific L4-level autonomous vehicle application scenarios include: shuttle transportation; passenger vehicles (such as buses operating on designated routes); Hub-to-Hub transport (e.g., between two distribution centers); transportation needs during off-peak hours; first/last-mile delivery of people and/or goods; and "dual-mode vehicles," such as automated valet parking (AVP).

In fact, as early as 2017, the German Federal Council passed the "Eighth Amendment to the Road Traffic Act." The amendment at that time stipulated that vehicles meeting all of the following conditions could be classified as "highly or fully automated driving systems": 1. They must be capable of independently performing lateral or longitudinal movements. 2. Once the "highly or fully automated driving" function is activated, they must strictly comply with road traffic regulations. 3. Drivers should have the ability to take control—or even deactivate—the "highly or fully automated driving" feature at any time and from anywhere. 4. Drivers must remain aware of the necessity to personally assume control of the vehicle when required. 5. The system must promptly alert drivers—through visual, auditory, or tactile cues—to regain control of the vehicle when necessary.

The Amendment also stipulates that drivers are required to immediately regain control of the vehicle under the following circumstances: 1) when a "highly or fully automated system" issues a takeover request; and 2) when the driver realizes, or should reasonably recognize based on common sense, that the vehicle no longer meets the pre-set operational conditions for "highly or fully automated driving." In other words, the original bill mandated that autonomous vehicles must be equipped with a human safety operator ready to take over at any time. However, the new bill set to pass allows vehicles with SAE Level 4 autonomous driving capabilities—defined under the SAE standard—to be deployed without the need for a driver or safety operator onboard.
(Photo/Text/Photo by: Xiong Ruifeng, Pacific Auto Network)

Translated from Sina Auto
 

Email:
info@adtfm.com

Phone:
021-20532053

Address:
2nd Floor, No. 150 Jindian Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai