On December 5, the General Office of the Ministry of Transport issued the "Guidelines for Transportation Safety Services for Autonomous Vehicles (Trial)". It mentions that autonomous vehicles engaged in the operation of urban bus and trolley passenger transportation and road passenger transportation shall be accompanied by one driver or operation safety personnel (hereinafter collectively referred to as "safety officers"). In principle, autonomous vehicles engaged in road cargo transportation operations are equipped with safety officers on board. Conditionally autonomous vehicles and highly autonomous vehicles engaged in taxi passenger transportation shall be equipped with one safety officer on board;Under the premise of ensuring safety, fully autonomous vehicles engaged in taxi passenger transportation may use remote safety officers when operating in designated areas with the consent of the people of districted cities, and the ratio of remote safety officers to vehicles shall not be less than 1:3. Safety personnel shall receive training in autonomous vehicle technology and related transportation business, be proficient in the provisions of road traffic safety laws and regulations, the operation skills of different levels of autonomous driving systems, be familiar with the operation route of autonomous vehicles, and have the ability to take over vehicles and other emergency response capabilities in an emergency. After the autonomous driving function of an autonomous vehicle is changed or updated, autonomous driving transportation operators should strengthen on-the-job training for safety officers in a timely manner to ensure that they can grasp new functions, new technologies, and new requirements in a timely manner. Safety officers shall comply with the relevant regulations and requirements for the management of employees in the field of transportation, and obtain the qualifications of the corresponding business categories. The full text is as follows:
Guidelines for Transportation Safety Services for Autonomous Vehicles (Trial).
In order to guide the development of autonomous driving technology and standardize the application of autonomous vehicles in the field of transportation services, these guidelines are formulated in accordance with the "Work Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", "Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", "Road Transport Regulations of the People's Republic of China" and other laws and regulations, as well as relevant provisions on road transport and urban passenger transport management.
1. Scope of application.
These guidelines apply to the use of autonomous vehicles on urban roads, highways, and other roads used for the passage of social motor vehicles, and to engage in urban bus and trolley passenger transport, taxi passenger transport, road passenger transport operations, and road cargo transport business activities.
The term "autonomous vehicles" in this guide refers to vehicles that have the ability to perform all dynamic driving tasks under the design and operation conditions in accordance with relevant national standards, and are included in the scope of product access by the industry and information technology departments, including conditional autonomous vehicles, highly autonomous vehicles and fully autonomous vehicles specified in the national standard "Classification of Automobile Driving Automation" (GB T40429-2021).
II. Basic Principles.
The use of autonomous vehicles to engage in urban bus and tram passenger transport, taxi passenger transport, road passenger transport operations, and road cargo transport operations (hereinafter collectively referred to as autonomous driving transport operations) shall adhere to the principles of compliance with laws and regulations, honesty and trustworthiness, safety first, and innovation-driven. The transportation management of autonomous vehicles should adhere to the safety first.
1. Adhere to the principles of integrity and innovation, inclusiveness, openness, and orderly progress.
3. Application scenarios.
In order to ensure transportation safety, road transport services carried out by autonomous vehicles should be carried out in designated areas and pass the road traffic safety assessment in accordance with the law. The use of self-driving vehicles to engage in urban bus and tram passenger transport business activities can be carried out in physically closed, relatively closed, or simple fixed routes, and traffic safety controllable scenariosThe use of self-driving cars to engage in taxi passenger transport business activities can be carried out in scenarios where traffic conditions are good and traffic safety is controllablePrudent use of self-driving vehicles to engage in road passenger transport business activities;Autonomous vehicles can be used to engage in road cargo transportation business activities in scenarios such as point-to-point trunk road transportation or urban roads with safe and controllable traffic;It is forbidden to use self-driving cars to engage in road dangerous goods transportation business activities.
4. Autonomous transport operators.
Operators who use autonomous vehicles to engage in urban bus and tram passenger transport, taxi passenger transport, road passenger transport, and road cargo transport (hereinafter collectively referred to as autonomous transport operators) shall go through the registration of market entities in accordance with the law, and the business scope shall be registered with the corresponding business category;Taxi passenger transport (online car-hailing) and road passenger transport shall be insured with carrier liability insurance in accordance with the law. Those engaged in the operation of urban buses and trams shall comply with the relevant operational requirements of the state and the people of the cities where they operate. Those engaged in taxi passenger transport, road passenger transport and road cargo transport shall have the business license qualifications of the corresponding business categories. Urban passenger transport enterprises and road transport enterprises can form a consortium with automobile manufacturers to carry out autonomous driving transportation operations. Autonomous driving transport operators shall go through the relevant formalities in accordance with law, and local competent departments for transportation shall provide channels for autonomous driving transport operators to engage in autonomous vehicle transport business services.
5. Transport vehicles.
Autonomous vehicles engaged in road transport operations shall comply with the requirements of relevant national standards and technical specifications, go through the registration of motor vehicles in accordance with the law, and obtain motor vehicle number plates and motor vehicle driving licenses. Autonomous vehicles engaged in urban bus and tram passenger transportation shall meet the relevant operational requirements of the state and the people of the cities where they operate. Autonomous vehicles engaged in taxi passenger transport, road passenger transport operations, and road cargo transport operations shall also meet the requirements of the relevant safety technical standards for the operation of commercial motor vehicles in the transportation industry, and obtain the "Online Taxi Transportation Certificate" or "Road Transport Certificate" issued by the competent department of transportation at the place of operation in accordance with the law. If an autonomous vehicle needs to change its autonomous driving function or upgrade its vehicle software system, it shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the industry and information technology department to ensure the safety of vehicle operation.
Autonomous vehicles engaged in road transport operations shall comply with the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, the Road Transport Regulations of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations on Compulsory Insurance of Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Liability, and the Notice of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Transport on Printing and Distributing the Administrative Specifications for Road Testing and Demonstration Applications of Intelligent Connected Vehicles (Trial) (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology 2021 No. 97) Relevant requirements, the provision of traffic accident liability compulsory insurance certificate and traffic accident liability insurance certificate or accident compensation guarantee.
6. Staffing.
Autonomous vehicles engaged in the operation of urban bus and tram passenger transportation and road passenger transportation shall be accompanied by one driver or operation safety personnel (hereinafter collectively referred to as "safety officers"). In principle, autonomous vehicles engaged in road cargo transportation operations are equipped with safety officers on board. Conditionally autonomous vehicles and highly autonomous vehicles engaged in taxi passenger transportation shall be equipped with one safety officer on board;Under the premise of ensuring safety, fully autonomous vehicles engaged in taxi passenger transportation may use remote safety officers when operating in designated areas with the consent of the people of districted cities, and the ratio of remote safety officers to vehicles shall not be less than 1:3. Safety personnel shall receive training in autonomous vehicle technology and related transportation business, be proficient in the provisions of road traffic safety laws and regulations, the operation skills of different levels of autonomous driving systems, be familiar with the operation route of autonomous vehicles, and have the ability to take over vehicles and other emergency response capabilities in an emergency. After the autonomous driving function of an autonomous vehicle is changed or updated, autonomous driving transportation operators should strengthen on-the-job training for safety officers in a timely manner to ensure that they can grasp new functions, new technologies, and new requirements in a timely manner. Safety officers shall comply with the relevant regulations and requirements for the management of employees in the field of transportation, and obtain the qualifications of the corresponding business categories.
7. Safety and security.
1) Safety production system.
Autonomous driving transport operators shall perform the main responsibility of production safety, establish and implement an operational safety management system, including but not limited to a safety production responsibility system for all employees, a vehicle technical management system, a safety assessment system, a safety hazard investigation and management system, a dynamic monitoring management system, a network security management system, a safety management system for employees, safety production operation procedures for key positions, and an education and training plan for safety production and emergency response.
2) Transportation safety guarantee.
Autonomous vehicle transport operators should establish and improve the transportation safety guarantee system, formulate a transportation safety guarantee plan for autonomous vehicles before formal operation, and clarify the design and operation conditions, staffing situation, operational safety risk list, hierarchical control measures, and emergency response measures of autonomous vehicles. Autonomous driving transportation operators should sign agreements with automobile manufacturers and safety officers, clarify the rights, responsibilities and obligations of all parties, and organize professional demonstrations and safety risk assessments of transportation safety assurance plans. The transportation safety guarantee plan and safety risk assessment report shall be notified to the competent department of transportation, public security traffic police department and emergency management department at the place of operation. Autonomous transport operators need to ensure transport safety;If there are major hidden dangers that cannot ensure transportation safety, the operation of autonomous driving transportation shall be suspended in a timely manner in accordance with the law.
3) Management of operational status information.
Autonomous transport operators shall ensure that the vehicle is in good technical condition and operates in accordance with the vehicle's instruction manual. Autonomous vehicles engaged in road transport operations should have the functions of recording, storing and transmitting vehicle operating status information, and transmit key operating status information to autonomous driving transport operators and relevant competent departments in the place of operation in real time. In the event of an accident or failure of the autonomous driving function, the operating status information should be automatically recorded and stored for at least 90 seconds before the incident. The operating status information includes but is not limited to the following 10 items: vehicle identification (frame number or vehicle number plate information, etc.);Vehicle control mode;Vehicle location;Vehicle speed, acceleration, direction of travel and other motion states;Contextual Awareness and Response Status;Real-time status of vehicle lights and signals;360-degree monitoring of the exterior of the vehicle;In-car** and voice monitoring that reflect the status of the driver and human-computer interaction;Remote control instructions received by the vehicle (if any) and vehicle failure conditions (if any).
4) Vehicle dynamic monitoring.
If the vehicle complies with the "Measures for the Dynamic Supervision and Administration of Road Transport Vehicles" and relevant national regulations, it is necessary to strengthen the dynamic monitoring of autonomous vehicles, monitor and manage the vehicle operation area, operation route and operation status, and timely remind to correct and deal with violations of laws and regulations. The competent departments of transportation at the place of operation shall urge autonomous driving transport operators to strengthen the dynamic management of transport vehicles and safety officers.
5) Security Notice.
Autonomous vehicles should be clearly identified on the body with a prominent pattern, text, or color to clearly inform other traffic participants of their autonomous identity. Operators who use self-driving vehicles to engage in urban bus and tram passenger transportation, taxi passenger transportation, and road passenger transportation shall inform passengers of the vehicle's automatic driving function, safe riding knowledge, safety facilities use, emergency escape methods, and other matters through means such as *** or posting signs.
6) Emergency response.
Autonomous vehicle operators should formulate emergency plans for emergencies in the operation of autonomous vehicles, clarify the type and level of emergencies, handling methods, emergency response procedures, division of responsibilities and safeguard measures, etc., and organize emergency drills on a regular basis. In the event of a vehicle failure or safety accident during the operation of an autonomous vehicle, the autonomous driving transportation operator shall initiate an emergency response and make a good emergency response in accordance with the requirements of the emergency planIn the event of a safety production accident, it shall be reported to the competent department of transportation at the place where the accident occurred in a timely manner in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state.
8. Supervision and management.
1) Daily supervision.
The competent departments of transportation shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, strengthen the supervision and management of autonomous vehicle transportation business activities, carry out supervision and inspection in accordance with the requirements of "double randomization and one disclosure", and supervise and urge autonomous vehicle manufacturers and autonomous driving transportation operators to carry out road transport business activities in strict accordance with relevant national laws and regulations to ensure transportation safety. Local transportation authorities may formulate safety requirements and measures that are higher than these guidelines in light of local conditions.
2) Rectification of hidden dangers.
If there are major potential safety hazards in the use of self-driving vehicles to engage in road transport business activities, the competent department of transportation at the place of operation shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments, order the self-driving car manufacturer and autonomous driving transport operator to quickly rectify the situation. If it is impossible to ensure transportation safety, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the "Work Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", "Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", "Road Transport Regulations of the People's Republic of China" and other laws and regulations.
3) Information feedback.
If technical defects, hidden dangers and problems are found in the operation of autonomous vehicles, autonomous driving transport operators shall give feedback to the relevant competent authorities in accordance with the law, and the relevant competent authorities shall urge the automobile manufacturers to quickly investigate and rectify, eliminate potential safety hazards in a timely manner, and ensure production safety. The competent department of transportation at the place of operation shall regularly monitor and summarize the local autonomous driving operation and service situation, and grasp the safety and operation service situation of the industry. The provincial-level transportation department shall report to the Ministry before the end of each year on the transportation operation of autonomous vehicles within its jurisdiction.