The European Union is working on regulations that would make it possible for car manufacturers to sell self-driving cars in member states of Europe. The EU staff involved in drafting the rules will report this to the International Political Forum. Politico† With the new regulations, the European Union wants to play a leading role in the field of self-driving, but at the moment there are some obstacles.
New European regulations on so-called autonomous driving should make it possible to register and sell cars with autonomous technology. There are limitations, however, because the plan states that only 1,500 self-driving cars per car brand may be sold in each member state. There are still road safety concerns, if self-driving cars hit the road en masse.
Therefore, there are also 17 different technical directives describing how member states must approve the sale of self-driving cars. According to informed sources, the European Commission will present the final bill in September, after which it is up to member states to approve or not approve the regulations. So it is not yet clear when the regulations will come into effect.
From the experimental stage to the commercial stage
The plans are for cars that can drive autonomously at “Level 4”. This means that the car should be able to drive independently from A to B, but the driver can still intervene when necessary. The European Commission wants to be a world leader in allowing these types of cars to go on the road.
“We are now moving from the pilot phase to the commercial phase,” an EU official said of the plans. This has not yet been the case with car manufacturers: Tesla’s “full autonomous driving” is still in beta, for example, as are concerns such as Geely and General Motors. and Volkswagen It is still in beta with respect to level 4.
As an intermediate step, the EU first wants to allow the sale of Level 3 autonomous cars. The driver can relinquish control completely only in certain specific situations, for example in a traffic jam or on the highway. Mercedes-Benz already got approval in May The German government to market the S-Class and EQS with such a self-driving assistance, Drive Pilot, in Germany. In time, this should also become possible – subject to certain restrictions – in other member states.
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