WP.29 Discussion Topic

Automated Driving Systems

To one degree or another, automated driving technologies take over functions previously assured entirely by the driver. At one level, driver assistance systems aid the driver in controlling the vehicle. However, technologies have advanced to the point where automated systems propose to replace the driver in controlling various aspects of vehicle behavior. For example, lane-keeping assistance systems propose to intervene in the steering of the vehicle in order to maintain the vehicle within a lane of travel. At the furthest point in the spectrum, autonomous vehicles propose to assume full responsibility for vehicle behavior without any driver intervention. As a result, such technologies undermine the fundamental assumption that the driver is responsible for the vehicle and thus present the regulatory community with a host of unprecedented opportunities and challenges in ensuring road safety. WP.29 has undertaken to address these issues on a global basis in order to seek uniform worldwide responses that will promote the use of these technologies while ensuring their safe introduction into road traffic.