The U.K. insurance industry settles a question that continues to challenge the automotive industry: Exactly what should a vehicle be capable of doing to rate being called automated?
Releasing its minimum criteria for the definition, it says systems that require the driver to control or monitor the vehicle cannot be classified as automated.
The government’s Automated and Electric Vehicle Bill defines an automated vehicle as one that is “designed or adapted to be capable, in at least some circumstances or situations, of safely driving itself, i.e. that it is operating in a mode in which it is not being controlled, and does not need to be monitored, by an individual.”
Thatcham Research, the U.K. auto insurers’ research center, is to assess any car marketed as automated or driverless against 10 key features and performance criteria required of a truly automated vehicle. They are:
- Naming: clearly describes automated capability.
- Law-abiding: complies with U.K. traffic laws and the Highway Code.
- Location-specific: functionality is limited to specific types of roads or areas via geo-fencing.
- Clear handover: transfer of driving control follows a clear offer-and-confirm process.
- Safe driving: vehicle can manage all reasonably expected situations by itself.
- Unanticipated handover: adequate and appropriate notice must be given if the vehicle needs to unexpectedly hand back driving control.
- Safe stop: vehicle executes an appropriate safe stop if unable to continue or the driver does not take back control.
- Emergency intervention: vehicles can avoid or prevent an accident by responding to an emergency.
- Backup systems: safeguards step in if any systems fail.
- Accident data: record and report what systems were in use at the time of an accident.
“We recommend that this is also criteria that government and vehicle manufacturers could use to define what is and isn’t safe use of an automated car,” Ben Howarth, senior policy adviser- motor and liability at the Association of British Insurers, says in a statement.
Thatcham director of research Matthew Avery says it’s crucial to have a clear definition of what constitutes an automated vehicle.
“Regulators and insurers require this to classify and insure vehicles appropriately, while consumers need to understand the functionality and capability of the vehicle and their own responsibilities,” Avery says.
“Consequently, a system that needs the driver to control or monitor the vehicle in any way cannot be classified as automated.”
Public Needs Guidance
Howarth says there will be a transition period from today’s cars to vehicles of the future offering gradually increasing levels of autonomy.
“There is the potential for confusion during this interim stage when people could wrongly think their vehicles can be left alone to manage a journey independently,” he says.
“Insurers want to see manufacturers being absolutely clear about how they describe what their vehicles can do – and we think this checklist of 10 things which define a truly automated vehicle should be adopted across the industry to help give clarity to consumers.”
Avery says the checklist shines a light into the potentially dangerous gray area semi-automated vehicles could create. “It is also important to shift the focus onto the safe performance of a vehicle’s automated system,” he says.
The U.K. insurers also are calling for data on automated functionality to be available at an individual vehicle level, identifiable via the Vehicle Identification Number. This would provide an accurate record of which vehicles are running on older software or are overdue important maintenance.
“By recording these changes at Vehicle Identification Number level, insurers, rental and lease companies, fleet operators as well as law enforcement agencies would be made aware of any change to the automation status of a vehicle,” Avery says.
“Immediate data access will also be essential in allowing insurers to determine whether the driver or automated system was at fault in the case of an accident.”
