As self-driving cars slowly edge towards commercial reality, with companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Continental, Tesla, Denso, or Google getting in gear, regulatory action has already started at UNECE. Under the auspices of the World Forum for harmonization of vehicle regulations, the UNECE Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear will review, at its meeting on 16-20 February, proposals covering semi-automated driving functions, which will ultimately pave the way for more highly-automated vehicles.

The Working Party, the group of experts developing active safety regulations for vehicles, will review a proposal to amend existing regulations with a view to introduce technical provisions for self-steering systems. These systems will be used for Lane Keeping Assist Systems and Autopilot Systems in traffic jam conditions. Under specific driving circumstances, these systems will take over the control of the vehicle under the permanent supervision of the driver.

The Working Party will also review policies and guidance concerning self-parking functions (e.g. when the driver instructs the car to park while he/she is outside the car) and highway autopilots (e.g. when the vehicle would be self-driving at high speeds on highways). It will discuss and draft the corresponding regulatory provisions, which would be reviewed at future meetings.