Regulations Spotlight

The European Commission have recently published two draft EU Regulations which pave the way for the more widespread deployment of fully automated vehicles. The first of these draft Regulations specifies proposed amendments to (EU) 2018/858 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers which would permit the European Small Series Type Approval of fully automated vehicles. The second draft Regulation is a new Implementing Regulation proposing uniform procedures and technical specifications for the type approval of the automated driving systems of fully automated motor vehicles.

The development of these two draft Regulations was prompted by Article 11 of EU Regulation No. 2019/2144 (General Safety Regulation 2 or GSR 2) which directed the European Commission to adopt provisions which would permit the type approval of automated and fully automated vehicles. To assist in generating the necessary provisions and technical requirements for fully automated vehicles, the European Commission set up a specific Sub Group of their Motor Vehicle Working Group (MVWG) and, between December 2020 and March 2022, this MVWG Sub Group met 13 times.

The draft EU Delegated Regulation proposing amendments to (EU) 2018/858 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers was published for public consultation on March 22, 2022, with the reference Ares(2022)2077610. For fully automated vehicles, the key points contained within this draft Delegated Regulation can be summarised as follows:

•  Provisions to allow the European Small Series Type Approval (EUSSTA) of fully automated M and N category vehicles are added. (Note: An EUSSTA allows the manufacturer to register up to 1,500 vehicles per calendar year within the European Union)
   
•  A new table is added into (EU) 2018/858 specifying the requirements applicable to fully automated vehicles produced in small series, with different requirements being applicable depending on which of the following three categories the vehicle falls into:
   
  •  Fully automated N category vehicles, i.e. goods vehicles, that are not designed to accommodate any occupants.
     
  • Fully automated M and N category vehicles, i.e. passenger vehicles and goods vehicles, that are designed to accommodate occupants.
     
  • Dual mode vehicles, that are equipped with both a fully automated driving mode and a manual driving mode.
     
• The table specifies where exemption from the type approval requirements applicable to traditional "manual driving mode" motor vehicles is permitted for fully automated vehicle, depending on which of the above categories they fall into.

The draft EU Implementing Regulation proposing uniform procedures and technical specifications for the type approval of the automated driving systems of fully automated motor vehicles was published for public consultation on April 7, 2022, with the reference Ares(2022)2667391. The scope of this draft Regulation is limited to the following "use cases":

• Fully automated vehicles operating in a predefined area in an urban or suburban environment.
   
• Fully automated vehicles or dual mode vehicles operating on a predefined route, with fixed start and end points, which may include urban, suburban or motorway environments.
   
• Dual mode vehicles with a fully automated driving mode for parking applications within predefined parking facilities.

Annex 2 of the draft Regulation specifies the performance requirements that an automated driving system must comply with, including requirements on the following:

• Dynamic driving task in nominal conditions - Specifying how the automated driving system must react and perform in normal driving conditions.
   
• Dynamic driving task in emergency conditions - Specifying how the automated driving system must react and perform in emergency conditions.
   
• Operational Design Domain (ODD) - Specifying how the automated driving system must react and perform if the vehicle goes outside its Operational Design Domain (ODD).
   
• Failure conditions - Specifying how the automated driving system must react and perform if the there is a fault or failure in the automated driving system.
   
• Minimum risk manoeuvre - Specifying that the vehicle must always be capable of safely bringing the vehicle to a halt in a safe position.
   
• Cybersecurity - Specifying that the automated driving system must comply with the requirements of UN ECE Regulation No. 155.00 on cybersecurity.
   
• Software updates - Specifying that the procedures and processes for any software updates must comply with the requirements of UN ECE Regulation No. 156.00 on software updates.
   
• Data Recording - Specifying the data which must be recorded by the automated driving system and by the Event Data Recorder (EDR).

Annex 3 of the draft Regulation specifies the compliance assessment processes that must be undertaken on the automated driving system by the Technical Service to confirm its compliance with the performance requirements specified in Annex 2. Whilst this Annex does specify a number of test procedures to which the fully automated vehicle must be subjected to demonstrate compliance with the performance requirements, due to the complexities of automated driving systems, these physical testing requirements are supplemented with some additional compliance assessments.

As part of the type approval application, the manufacturer must compile documentation detailing the design and operation of the automated driving system, its “safety concept” and the safety management system operated by the manufacturer to demonstrate that thorough consideration of functional and operational safety has been applied throughout the design and development of the system. This documentation will be reviewed by the Technical Service and assessed for compliance with criteria specified in Annex 3 of the draft Regulation.

Recognising that it is not practical, or even possible, for the manufacturer to physically test the fully automated driving system in every possible traffic scenario, e.g. vehicle speeds, weather conditions, ambient lighting conditions, etc., the use of virtual testing techniques by the manufacturer is recognised as an acceptable method of validating the performance of the system. However, as part of the compliance assessment, the virtual testing tools used by the manufacturer will be reviewed by the Technical Service and assessed for compliance with criteria specified in Annex 3 of the draft Regulation.

Finally, the manufacturer is required to provide the relevant Technical Service, Type Approval Authority, Market Surveillance Authority and the European Commission with data regarding any issues that occur with their fully automated vehicles once they have been placed into service. If the vehicle is involved in a collision event which causes injury or significant physical damage to one of the vehicles involved in the collision event, this must be reported immediately. Other issues must be reported on a monthly or yearly basis, depending of the severity of the issue. Annex 3 to the draft Regulation specifies details on the severity classification of different issues.