What Autonomous Cars Mean for Road Safety and the Legal Framework in NZ

With several companies developing autonomous vehicles, the prospect of driverless cars on the road is no longer science-fiction, and they might well become part of the landscape in our generation. Although autonomous cars are still in testing mode, there have been impressive technological advances in what sensors are capable of and an increasing number of functions are now controlled by the vehicles rather than human beings.

However, beyond the challenges of the technology itself, releasing those vehicles on public roads will also require a complete re-definition of legislation as the concepts of road safety and liability are entirely transformed

The different levels of autonomy

For most people, autonomous vehicles mean that no human intervention is necessary (or possible) and the car is fully driverless. In real terms, there are several degrees of autonomy and Ministries of Transport around the world have issued classifications according to which function is automated and to which degree.

In 2013, the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defined five levels of autonomy which have been adopted as a sensible framework.

Level-1 vehicles are mostly controlled by drivers but a specific function like accelerating can be performed by the car automatically.

In Level 2, the driver isn’t involved in driving in at least one assistance system, during which he has both his hands off the steering wheel AND his feet off the pedals. Such functions include cruise control and lane centering for example.

Level 3 is a leap forward. Drivers can still intervene when necessary but otherwise the vehicle will make decisions autonomously.

Level 4 is what we think of as driverless cars, where cars are able to correctly interpret their journey’s environment and perform all “safety-critical driving functions” on their own.

Level 5 is not yet a realistic scenario. This is when driverless vehicles can negotiate any kind of terrain independently like dirt roads for example.

The challenges posed by autonomous vehicles

As those vehicles rely on on-board software and equipment to manage themselves, it is unlikely that changes to infrastructures will be necessary, which would remove an obstacle to their adoption.

However, as neat as the five-level classification above is, it is more of a tool to structure thinking about automated cars than a concerted plan of action. Indeed, while some car manufacturers are focusing on automating certain functions, others are prioritising automation under certain driving conditions, like motorway driving for example, and Google have set themselves the goals of automating everything. This means that a range of autonomous cars could be present on the road at the same time, with different requirements and behaviours.

At the moment, the more advanced autonomous cars described above are not yet available commercially in New Zealand and the Government is focusing on defining conditions for testing on public roads and to clarify legislation pertaining to the deployment of autonomous vehicles in the country, all published in the Ministry of Transport’s Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Technology Action Plan.

Unlike other countries, there are no laws against driverless vehicles in New Zealand, it makes us a prime candidate for road testing, and the Government outlines in this document how it intends to promote New Zealand internationally to this effect, and how it will consider liability related to testing – but to testing only.

Indeed, even within the context of testing, autonomous vehicles could cause accidents and, whether a driver is present but has limited control over the car, or there is no driver, the question will remain of who is at fault if a car crashes.

Beyond the issue of liability, the Government’s main concern is public safety during the testing of those vehicles, and it concludes in its document that the powers of the police and the New Zealand Transport Agency on the operation of vehicles are sufficient to ensure that the general population remains safe while autonomous vehicles are tested on public roads.

However, the question of liability once driverless cars are in operation more widely is much more complex. Regardless of the degree of autonomy of the car, their behaviour will be managed by software or remotely. In the case of an accident, who will be responsible? The software manufacturer, the provider of the road data, the hardware manufacturer, online applications or the driver if there is one? And although driverless cars are supposed to be safer because they will always follow the rules, should any vehicle be built without the ability for humans to override the vehicle’s commands in an emergency? We have all experienced a SatNav telling us to take a one-way street the wrong way to know that relinquishing all control to a navigation device isn’t always the safest option.

There is also the issue of cyber security. As soon as a computer or software are introduced in the handling of a car comes the risk of tampering with it, which is even magnified if some part of the data those vehicles need is on the Cloud. Along with mechanical safety, manufacturers will have to demonstrate their ability to establish strong safeguards against hacking, and, there too, the matter of liability is a thorny one.

At the moment, New Zealand’s government hasn’t indicated that it will look at these legal issues, but that it will monitor the developments in legislation around the world until the time when it is certain that these vehicles will be available to the general population.

We love classic cars and have been transporting many over the years, but we are equally excited about the new breeds of vehicles emerging such as electric cars and autonomous cars. Whichever you want to ship internationally, we can help you. We have decades’ of experience over which we have refined our processes to make it painless for our customers. If you would like to discuss international transport for your car, call us on +64 9 303 0075, send us an email or get a quote online.