Amendment of the autonomous vehicles act: a step towards wider use of autonomous technologies on our28/11/2024|Press releasesThe Ministry of Transport, in cooperation with the Association of the Automotive Industry and the Association of Car Importers, has prepared an amendment to the law that will allow the application of current technical capabilities of cars sold in the Czech Republic and the EU. The amendment will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies for consideration in November. "This innovation shall enable the operation of approved automated vehicles in the Czech Republic, whose technologies will significantly increase driver comfort and safety on our roads," said transport minister Martin Kupka. An automated vehicle is one that, thanks to advanced systems and functions, can drive autonomously under specified conditions, i.e. without driver intervention. Typical situations for this autonomous mode are for example low-speed traffic during congestion or motorway traffic. When the autonomous mode is activated, the vehicle does not require driver's attention, i.e. it operates according to the concept of "feet off the pedals, hands on the legs, eyes off the road, brain ready to intervene". This mode represents a higher degree of autonomy before partial automation, which is already offered by many vehicles on the Czech market, but still requires the driver to concentrate on driving. "The proposal not only brings the most advanced technologies of autonomous mobility to Czech roads, but also further develops the competitiveness of Czech car companies involved in the development and production of these technologies," says Zdeněk Petzl, Executive Director of the Automotive Industry Association. The technologies, for which a legislative framework is now being developed, are based on driving assistants already familiar to drivers, such as adaptive cruise control or lane departure warning. While these assistants only support the driver and are not responsible for driving, automated driving systems take over this responsibility. This means for drivers that they will be able to temporarily hand over control to the vehicle while driving on selected sections, especially on motorways, and not have to focus on driving during this time. "The Czech Republic will make it possible to use the systems already available for new vehicles in a similar way as in Germany, for example. We very much welcome the fact that the Ministry of Transport has given such significant legislative support to new technological developments," adds Josef Pokorný, Secretary of the Association of Car Importers. The vehicle will see when the driver must take over the steering wheel and visually informs the driver on the display that it is ready to take over. The driver then decides whether to hand over control to the vehicle, for example by pressing a button on the steering wheel, or to continue driving. If the driver decides not to hand over the steering wheel, the active safety and assistance systems fitted to the vehicle, such as blind-spot monitoring, will stay active. "The main benefits of automated vehicles and, prospectively, fully automated vehicles are increased traffic safety and ease," adds Tereza Čížková from the Department of Space Activities and New Technologies of the Ministry of Transport. This is a natural technological evolution based on strict and safe international regulations. Vehicles covered by this legislation are approved in accordance with EU-wide type-approval regulations. The current amendment mainly regulates driver's liability and obligations related to driving in autonomous mode. "The proposal was preceded by a detailed discussion with representatives of the car industry, insurance companies and the Police of the Czech Republic," emphasises Stanislav Dvořák, Director of the Department of Driver Agencies of the Ministry of Transport. The legislative amendment to Act No. 361/2000 Coll. on Road Traffic and Act No. 56/2001 Coll. on Conditions of Vehicle Operation on Roads specifically includes the following: Extension of the definition “driver” to include a person who hands over and supervises the driving of a vehicle, even if this person is not in direct control of the vehicle; waiver of certain driver responsibilities related to controlling the vehicle and complying with traffic rules on roads when driving autonomously; transfer of responsibility from the driver to the vehicle within the limits of the type-approvalregulations; a new obligation for the driver to take over driving when instructed by the vehicle; imposing an obligation on the driver to give the control authorities access to the vehicle in order to obtain data from the system; the extension of the Road Vehicles Registry to indicate whether the registered vehicle has been approved as an automated vehicle under a directly applicable regulation. Given the importance of this legislation in helping make our roads safer and more efficient, we are confident of active support in passing these amendments. It is time to take measures to keep up with state-of-the-art technologies and ensure the future of the Czech automotive industry.