The following guidelines describe safety measures for the operation of autonomous vehicles on China’s roads. Notably, the guidelines require trained safety personnel to ride in autonomous or mostly autonomous passenger or freight vehicles, with the exception of driverless taxis, which can be monitored remotely. This is a trial version of the guidelines; CSET has not observed a finalized version of the guidelines online as of the publication date of this translation.
An archived version of the Chinese source text is available online at: https://perma.cc/BNB9-HC4N
(Trial) Guidelines on Transportation Safety Services for Autonomous Vehicles
In order to guide the development of autonomous driving technology and standardize the application of autonomous vehicles (自动驾驶汽车) in the transportation services sector, these guidelines have been formulated in accordance with the Production Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulation of the People’s Republic of China on Road Transport, and other relevant laws and regulations, as well as relevant provisions on road transport and urban passenger transport management.
I. Scope of Application
These Guidelines apply to the use of autonomous vehicles on urban roads, highways, and other roads open to public motor vehicle traffic to engage in urban public bus and streetcar passenger transport, taxi passenger transport, road passenger transport operations, and road freight transport operations.
As used in these Guidelines, the term “autonomous vehicles” refers to vehicles that meet relevant national standards, are able to perform all dynamic driving tasks under their designed operating conditions, and have been included within the scope of product access by industry and information technology departments. It includes vehicles classified as conditionally autonomous vehicles, highly autonomous vehicles, and fully autonomous vehicles as defined in the national standard Taxonomy of Driving Automation for Vehicles (GB/T 40429-2021).
II. Basic Principles
The use of autonomous vehicles to engage in urban public bus and streetcar passenger transport, taxi passenger transport, road passenger transport operations, and road freight transport operations (hereinafter collectively referred to as “autonomous vehicle transport operations”) shall adhere to the principles of compliance with laws and regulations, integrity and trustworthiness, putting safety first, and being innovation-driven. The management of autonomous vehicle transportation shall adhere to the principles of safety first, upholding fundamentals while innovating, inclusiveness and openness, and orderly advancement.
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