China has announced its first mandatory national safety standard for Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous vehicles, tightening safety requirements for self-driving cars in the world's largest automotive market.
The safety requirements for automated driving systems of intelligent connected vehicles, which will take effect on July 1, 2027, have been approved by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Administration. The rules were introduced on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Tuesday.
Unlike previous driver assistance technologies, the L3 automated driving system enables vehicles to take over certain driving tasks under specific conditions, while still requiring human intervention. The L4 system can perform driving tasks without human input in designated environments.
According to the new requirements, automated driving systems must achieve an equivalent safety level to that of a qualified and attentive human driver performing the same dynamic driving tasks while avoiding unnecessary risks to passengers and other road users.
The standard introduces clearer requirements for human-machine interaction, which has become an increasingly important issue as drivers shift between automated and manual control.
