As China’s influence on the automotive world continues to shape regulatory direction, the latest might be another to keep an eye on.
The Middle Kingdom’s top court has ruled that the driver in a car running on assisted driving technology will still be held responsible in the event of an accident.
Chinese carmakers and tech companies have invested billions into autonomous technology but the court’s latest ruling to tighten up rules surrounding it could have a huge impact.
In issuing the ruling, the court stated that drivers are still responsible in ensuring road safety even once autonomous driving aids have been activated.
The case in reference was one where a man completely relied on autonomous technology to get home while drunk and asleep at the wheel. In this scenario, the driver installed a device to mimic the grip of a hand on the steering wheel as most autonomous tech will deactivate in the event of not sensing any input or feedback from the steering wheel. He then proceeded to fall asleep in the passenger’s seat.
“The on-board assisted driving system cannot replace the driver as the primary driving subject,” the Supreme People’s Court said in the ruling.
It further went on to dictate that ultimately, the driver “is still the one who actually performs the driving tasks and bears the responsibility to ensure driving safety.”
While carmakers have long clarified with the disclaimer that even with most of these autonomous driving technology or self-driving tech, the driver is still in control of the car, the court’s ruling sets a legal precedence in the country and possibly globally. Furthermore, lower courts will now reference this particular case in issuing judgements movignforward.
Prior to this, Beijing had alerted carmakers that regulations regarding this would be tightly enforced following a crash that killed three people, raising safety concerns about advertising related to autonomous driving.
The ruling follows China’s ban on hidden door handles and half-steering wheels, or yoke wheels.
