Ministers have begun drafting laws that will govern autonomous vehicles (AVs) on Australian roads.
The National Transport Commission has announced national laws will be in place by 2020, ensuring a “legal entity” is responsible for the actions of AVs.
The new laws are guided by the NTC’s 2017-18 consultation paper, which chief executive Paul Retter says will give manufacturers and operators reassurance in trialling vehicle systems in Australia.
“Without a change to existing laws or new law, there would be no-one to hold responsible for compliance with our road rules when an automated driving system is in control of a vehicle,” he says.
“With automated vehicles, there will be times when an ‘automated driving system’, rather than a human, will be in control of the vehicle,” Retter explains.
“We need a nationally consistent law to know who is in control of a motor vehicle at any point in time.”
NTC says transport ministers have agreed to a purpose-built legal framework and a “uniformed approach across all states and territories” when it comes to overseeing the liability of AV systems.
“This is a considerable change to national road transport laws, to support the significant changes we see coming in transport technology,” Retter adds.
At this stage, proposed safety criteria for self-certification by manufacturers and other organisations will require a ‘Statement of Compliance’ with 11 points of consideration.
Those points include a “human machine interface”, “cybersecurity”, and “on-road behavioural competency”.
Submissions on the Safety Assurance for Automated Driving Systems: Consultation Regulation Impact Statement close on July 9.
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