On August 26, 2022, the Official Journal of the European Union published a new EU Implementing Regulation setting out uniform procedures and technical specifications for the type approval of Automated Driving Systems (ADS) of fully automated vehicles.
This regulation (EU 2022/1426) is one of the key legislation which will eventually permit the European type approval of fully automated vehicles. Currently the scope of this regulation is limited to ‘use cases’ but is expected to expand in the future. The ‘use cases’ being:
- Fully automated vehicles operating in a predefined area in an urban or suburban environment.
- Fully automated vehicles or dual mode vehicles operating on a predefined route, with fixed start and end points, which may include urban, suburban or motorway environments.
- Dual mode vehicles with fully automated driving mode for parking applications within predefined parking facilities.
Annex 2 specifies the key performance requirements which the automated driving system must comply with, along with Annex 3, which specifies compliances assessment processes which must be undertaken by the Technical Service to confirm compliance with the performance requirements specified in Annex 2.
Annex 3 specifies a number of physical tests that the automated vehicles must be subjected to- these physical testing requirements are supplemented with a number of additional compliance assessments. These include a requirement for the Technical Service to review both the “safety concept” of the ADS and safety management system applied by the manufacturer during the design of the ADS.
