To execute those regulations, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has enacted strict regulations. These regulations are designed to increase safety regulations for the emerging self-driving electric vehicle (EV) industry. This program was launched, in part, following a tragic death. Just last month, a Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle crash in central Anhui province killed three people.
The MIIT convened officials from 60 automotive companies earlier this month to emphasize the importance of compliance with regulations governing the development and promotion of self-driving technologies. At this roundtable, the MIIT provided specific direction to participants. In a separate list of unacceptable marketing claims, they listed smart driving, advanced smart driving, and even autonomous driving as inappropriately misleading terms to promote existing self-driving systems.
In response to the MIIT’s directives, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) has urged its members to adhere strictly to the MIIT’s Automobile Driving Automation Classification. For one, the association demanded an end to deceptive advertising and hyperbolic marketing promises. CAAM’s statement is a reminder about the need for specificity. This kind of clarity is necessary to ensure that drivers do not misuse or abuse self-driving technologies.
Those new regulations come after a particularly horrible crash with the Xiaomi SU7. We knew the vehicle was speeding at 116 km/h, with its driver-assistance system engaged, when it crashed into a concrete barrier. Alarmingly, the system had issued an alert for the driver to retake control two seconds prior to collision. While recent incidents like Huey’s crash are rare, they’ve nonetheless sparked widespread concern and fear about safety and accountability in the burgeoning EV world.
As part of this reaction the CAAM has joined together with the China Society of Automotive Engineers. Collectively, they’re demanding better designs of products meant to protect us and better warning networks that serve us. The larger goal is to improve safety on our roads and reduce harm caused by misuse of these powerful advanced driver-assistance systems.
Even as China’s self-driving technology advances, it is still not up to international standards. While many of the self-driving systems across mainland China today are indeed L2 or L2+ in nature. Since all of these systems depend on visual gaze tracking, they need drivers to have their hands on the wheel – literally. The country has not yet accepted L3 (Level 3) systems. Once implemented and approved, these systems will deliver a “hands-off” driving experience, consistent with a framework laid out by SAE International here in the US.
David Zhang, general secretary of the International Intelligent Vehicle Engineering Association, highlighted a critical need for education among drivers regarding these technologies.
“Millions of drivers need to be educated to properly use the NOA systems,” – David Zhang.
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