engineering

Regulation of self-driving cars

Regulation of self-driving cars is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Regulation of self-driving cars rather than just read about it. In short: Regulation of self-driving cars refers to legislation passed in various jurisdictions around the world to regulate, standardise, test and monitor the use of autonomous vehicles and automated driving systems on public roads. Existing liability laws are also evolving to fairly identify the parties responsible for damage and injury, and to address the potential for conflicts of interest between human occupants, system…

Key takeaways

Regulation of self-driving cars belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Regulation of self-driving cars to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Regulation of self-driving cars from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Regulation of self-driving cars refers to legislation passed in various jurisdictions around the world to regulate, standardise, test and monitor the use of autonomous vehicles and automated driving systems on public roads. Existing liability laws are also evolving to fairly identify the parties responsible for damage and injury, and to address the potential for conflicts of interest between human occupants, system operators, insurers, and the public purse. Autonomous vehicle regulations may also apply to robotaxis and self-driving trucks, depending upon local legislation. In June 2011, the US state of Nevada became the first jurisdiction in the world to legislate for self-driving. Since then, many state, national and supranational bodies have introduced similar laws with varying characteristics. Regulations governing the testing of automated cars on public roads (as opposed to full consumer operations) include those introduced by the government of the United Kingdom in 2013, with similar laws coming into effect in France in 2015. Modification of existing international agreements on the use of vehicles on public roads has also taken place. The 1949 Vienna Geneva Convention on Road Traffic had assumed that a driver is always fully in control and responsible for the behaviour of a vehicle in traffic, but this was amended in 2016 to allow the possibility of automated features in vehicles. Specific international regulations also began to be formulated in 2018 with the Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA) recommending safety provisions related to the dynamics of vehicles (braking, steering), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Automated Driving Systems (ADS) and cyber security provisions for the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29). Individual jurisdictions around the world have also set up legal frameworks of various kinds. China introduced testing regulations for autonomous cars in 2018, and in 2020 issued the "Strategy for Innovation and Development of Intelligent Vehicles", a roadmap plan until 2025 relating to road traffic safety, surveying and mapping laws relating to intelligent vehicles. In Europe, Regulation 2019/2144, commonly known as the General Safety Regulation (GSR), came into force for all new cars in the European Union after 6th July 2022. Similar legislation followed in Japan with the law modified to reflect the finalized UNECE WP.29 GRVA regulations. SAE wording is generally adopted as the de facto standard for definitions in regulations throughout most jurisdictions. This gives descriptions for levels of autonomy ranging from fully manual (Level 0) to fully automated (Level 5). Terminology in ADS, Operational Design Domain (ODD) and Dynamic Driving Task (DDT) is also used.

General considerations Most regulations aim to achieve compatibility of automated vehicles with safety, legal responsibility, privacy and public expectations. The United Nations Economic Commission (UNEC) for Europe considers a balanced regulatory framework as a prerequisite to the mass introduction of these automated vehicles on the road. A primary aim is also to ensure that diverse vehicles work in their operating constraints and that drivers understand the vehicle capabilities for its safe usage. Self-driving car liability is also a developing area of law and policy that will determine who is liable when an automated car causes physical damage to persons, or breaks road rules. When automated cars shift the control of driving from humans to automated car technology, the driver may need to consent to share operational responsibility, which will require a legal framework. There may also be a need for existing liability laws to evolve to fairly identify the parties responsible for damage and injury, and to address the potential for conflicts of interest between human occupants, system operators, insurers, and the public purse.

International agreements There is no unique and fully harmonised regulatory framework applicable worldwide for the certification of vehicles as some countries rely on self certification and others rely on type-approval. International agreements act as the global "blueprint" for vehicle safety, while national laws act as the "rulebook" for how those vehicles are used on the street.

Conventions on Road Traffic

One of the fundamental principles of the convention had been that a driver is always fully in control and responsible for the behaviour of a vehicle in traffic. In 2016, a reform of the convention opened the possibility for automated features in vehicles so that driving tasks could be transferred to the vehicle in traffic. By 14 January 2022, the amendment to the convention was accepted, entering into force on 14 July 2022.

UNECE WP.29 GRVA In February 2018, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)'s Inland Transport Committee (ITC) acknowledged the importance of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) activities related to automated, autonomous and connected vehicles. They requested WP.29 to consider establishing a dedicated Working Party and at the June 2018 session, converted the Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF) into a new Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA). The group deals with safety provisions related to the dynamics of vehicles (braking, steering), Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Automated Driving Systems and well as cyber security provisions. In June 2020, the WP.29 virtual meeting approved reports from GRVA about its fifth session on "automated/autonomous and connected vehicles" and sixth session on "cyber security and software updates". The new Regulation on cyber security has been allocated as Regulation 155, and the new Regulation on software updates has been allocated as Regulation 156. In this way, UN regulation on SAE Level 3 was established. In March 2021, the following UNECE regulations were published:

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Regulation of self-driving cars

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Regulation of self-driving cars claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Regulation of self-driving cars before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Regulation of self-driving cars ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Regulation of self-driving cars

In research: Regulation of self-driving cars appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Regulation of self-driving cars in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Regulation of self-driving cars is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Regulation of robots, Self-driving cars, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Regulation of self-driving cars outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Regulation of self-driving cars in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Regulation of self-driving cars means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Regulation of self-driving cars out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Regulation of self-driving cars in simple terms?

Why does Regulation of self-driving cars matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Regulation of self-driving cars?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Regulation of self-driving cars.