The government intends to amend the regulations to study the "relaxation" of unmanned vehicles, and the research and development licenses to relax the passenger load. The draft will be submitted by 2022

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Written by: Zhong Yan

2021-05-14 19:31

Last update date: 2021-05-14 19:31

Autonomous driving is the current major trend of automobile development. Researchers in Hong Kong and many foreign countries are committed to research and development.

However, Hong Kong’s traffic laws have many restrictions, which restrict the testing and use of unmanned vehicles, and even registration and licensing are not possible under the current system.

The Transport Department has submitted a document to the Legislative Council's Panel on Transport that it will establish a new regulatory framework for driverless driving, drawing up details on licensing systems, crimes and penalties, and it is expected to introduce a bill to the Legislative Council in 2022.

The West Kowloon Cultural District has introduced a French driverless electric vehicle earlier, which travels at a speed of 9-10 kilometers per hour on a designated test path of 700 meters.

(Photo by Li Jiahao)

Vehicles of the intended users are licensed separately and can be tested for a long time on non-fixed routes

The Transport Department currently issues "vehicle driving permits" to the industry, approving them on a case-by-case basis, allowing autonomous vehicles to be tested, but they can only be carried out on designated routes and are valid for up to 12 months.

The Transport Department intends to enact new subsidiary legislation under the Road Traffic Ordinance to issue "operating licenses" to users and "permits" to vehicles to allow autonomous vehicles to travel on non-fixed routes under safety and traffic conditions. , For a long period of testing and use.

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The vehicle licenses successfully applied by the HKUST team are limited to trial runs at designated locations, and the validity period is only 4 months.

(Profile picture)

Amendments to facilitate autonomous driving and allow passengers to be carried

The document pointed out that some of the current provisions will hinder the testing of unmanned vehicles, including drivers who must "turn off the key" and "pull the handle" before leaving the vehicle, but the unmanned vehicle may need to leave the vehicle before the manual operation can be switched to the automatic operation mode; The current requirement to obtain a "passenger operation license" also hinders unmanned vehicles from providing legal passenger services, which means that the government will allow unmanned vehicles to provide passenger transport services in the future.

The Transport Department proposes to empower the Commissioner of Transport to approve and exempt certain provisions for testing on a case-by-case basis, and to formulate a Code of Practice to specify requirements for vehicle design, vehicle maintenance, and training.

In March last year, a UBER unmanned vehicle was knocked down by another private car during a test in Tempe. There were no injuries on the vehicle. UBER temporarily suspended the test.

(Reuters)

There will be no more drivers on unmanned vehicles. Who should be responsible for accidents?

The Transport Department stated that it will draft new legislation to stipulate the legal responsibilities of autonomous vehicle operators, relevant license plates and permit holders. For example, failure to maintain unmanned vehicles in a timely manner will also be a crime; obstruction or interference has been approved. It is also a crime for the tested autonomous vehicle to be tested or used.

The Transport Department expects to submit the bill in 2022.

At present, as of the end of April this year, 6 organizations and 11 autonomous vehicles have been approved for testing in Hong Kong.

▼Kuafu, a low-speed driverless car developed by HKUST▼

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