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. In some cases regulations for fully manual cars have created unintended regulatory barriers for self-driving cars.
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: Regulation 155: Cyber security and cyber security management system Regulation 156: Software update and software update management system Regulation 157: Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS)
In June 2022, the 187th session of WP.29 was held, and several amendments on GRVA regulations were agreed to. An amendment to UN Regulation Number 157 updated the regulations regarding Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS), increasing the allowed speed limit of to and added rules for automated lane change functions in passenger vehicles.
A new global technical regulation has also been proposed based on the accepted Proposal to develop a new UN GTR on Automated Driving Systems submitted by the representatives of Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America for the generation of the draft UN Global Technical Regulation on ADS. , this regulation is still under development.ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2024/38 2024
European Union In November 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council on motor vehicle type approval requirements defined specific requirements relating to automated vehicles and fully automated vehicles. This law is applicable from 2022 and is based on uniform procedures and technical specifications for the systems and other items.
In April 2022, EU released a draft version of its legislation for vehicles with automated driving systems (ADS), officially adopted in February 2024.
In July 2022, the new "Vehicle General Safety Regulation" come into effect which establishes the legal framework for the approval of automated and fully driverless vehicles (Level 3 and above) in the EU. And the EU introduced regulations which require all new cars from 6 July 2022 to be fitted with intelligent speed assistance (ISA) (Level 2).
EU Commission delegated regulation contains specific requirements for specific vehicles with regulatory differences between: Fully automated vehicles of categories N1, N2 and N3 without driver seat and without occupants Fully automated vehicles of categories N1, N2, N3, M1, M2, M3 without driver seat, with occupants Dual mode vehicles: vehicles with a driver seat designed and constructed to be driven by the driver in the “manual driving mode” and to be driven by the automated driving system (ADS) without any driver supervision in the “fully automated driving mode”
Automated vehicles deployment is addressed by several European regulations: Regulation (EU) 2018/858 Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 Regulation (EU) 2022/2236 Regulation (EU) 2022/1426
Legislation in the United States In the United States, a non-signatory country to the Vienna Convention, state vehicle codes historically did not envisage—but did not necessarily prohibit—highly automated vehicles. To clarify the legal status of and regulate such vehicles, many states have enacted specific laws regarding autonomous vehicles.
In 2017, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives unanimously passed "SELF DRIVE Act" which would speed the adoption of self-driving cars and bar states from setting performance standards. However, a complementary bill in the Senate, "AV START", failed to pass after Democrats raised objections that it didn't do enough to address safety and liability concerns. A comprehensive regulatory structure has not yet emerged at either the federal or state level in the United States.
In August 2022, members of the United States House of Representatives launched a bipartisan effort to help revive legislative efforts to boost self-driving vehicles.
Federal policies In September 2016, the US National Economic Council and US Department of Transportation (USDOT) released the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy, which are standards that describe how automated vehicles should react if their technology fails, how to protect passenger privacy, and how riders should be protected in the event of an accident. The new federal guidelines are meant to avoid a patchwork of state laws, while avoiding being so overbearing as to stifle innovation. Since then, USDOT has released multiple updates: Automated Driving Systems: A Vision for Safety 2.0 (12 September 2017) Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0 (4 October 2018) Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies: Automated Vehicles 4.0 (8 January 2020)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released for public comment the Occupant Protection for Automated Driving System on 30 March 2020, followed by the Framework for Automated Driving System Safety on 3 December 2020. Occupant Protection is intended to modernize the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards considering the removal of manual controls with automated driving systems, while the Framework document is intended to provide an objective way to define and assess automated driving system competence to ensure motor vehicle safety while also remaining flexible to accommodate the development of features to improve safety.
Historically, a vehicle without driving controls such as a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal would not be in compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), the minimum safety equipment needed to legally sell a vehicle to the public. On 10 March 2022, NHTSA updated and finalized the rule on safety requirements for the Occupant Protection to allow a vehicle without driving controls to comply with US regulations. The major update to NHTSA regulations allows companies to build and deploy autonomous vehicles without manual controls, as long as they meet other state and federal standards.