Legislative Yuan researchers have recommended revisions to traffic laws to ensure legal clarity on accidents involving self-driving vehicles.
A report published by the Legislative Research Bureau on Sept. 1 said that current regulations do not govern advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which autonomously perform actions on behalf of a driver, such as lane centering or parking.
Traffic violations involving ADAS can only be prosecuted under dangerous driving provisions of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), it said.
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There were more than 60 accidents on national highways from Jan. 1 to July 31 this year, more than 40 percent of which involved vehicles equipped with ADAS, the bureau said, citing media reports.
ADAS manufacturers have been requested to report deficiencies and safety-related data to the Vehicle Safety Certification Center as per instructions from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the report said.
Other countries have begun drafting regulations that govern autonomous vehicles to facilitate situational testing and eventual commercial use, it said.
In Taiwan, the only regulations that cover road testing of autonomous vehicles are the Unmanned Vehicles Technology Innovative Experimentation Act (無人載具科技創新實驗條例) and the Road Traffic Safety Rules Act (道路交通安全規則), it said.
However, these acts lack clear regulatory standards for autonomous driving, the bureau said, citing ISO 26262, or the international standard for the functional safety of electronic systems in vehicles, as an example of such a framework.
Since the experimentation act’s passage in 2018, no code for autonomous vehicles has been established, impeding the industry’s development, the bureau said.
The report suggests that lawmakers use other countries’ regulations to define standards for autonomous driving.
Among matters that require regulation are driver attention when a system is engaged, when a driver is obligated to not use such a system and when a driver does not need to hold a steering wheel.
Current regulations in Taiwan do not allow drivers to use full autonomous mode or take their hands off the steering wheel when using ADAS for assistance, the report said, adding that drivers using such systems are responsible for accidents when the system is engaged.
Before drafting new laws to govern the use of autonomous vehicles, the legislature should update existing regulations and add ADAS-related definitions and penalties to the traffic management act, the report said.
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