NTC eyes autonomous vehicle uptake

With manufacturers making strides towards the introduction of autonomous vehicles, the National Transport Commission has launched a new project to assess regulatory impediments to the technology's uptake.

Preparing for more automated road and rail vehicles – identifying any regulatory barriers will look at the currently regulatory system and seeks to clarify what is required to support the differing levels of autonomous road and rail vehicles.

The NTC says the project's findings will deliver:

>> improved understanding of the current regulatory system and its ability to continue to support increased vehicle automation (both road and rail)
>> identification of any regulatory or operational barriers to be removed or overcome and potential time pressures or options
>> a nationally-consistent approach for increased vehicle automation with a single regulatory approach (as far as possible with emerging technology)

Among the themes to be explored are compliance with traffic laws, liability and responsibility for the automated vehicle, data access (including for enforcement purposes) and privacy, and vehicle standards and safety assurance.

The NTC was asked to examine the existing regulatory framework and how it may impact the introduction of autonomous vehicle technology at the last meeting of the Transport and Infrastructure Council in early November.

It says it will now liaise with Austroads and a wide range of stakeholders to deliver the project, while an initial paper for public consultation will be released in early 2016.

"We need to make sure Australia is in a position to maximise the enormous social and financial benefits that automated vehicles can offer," said the CEO of the NTC, Paul Retter.

In other NTC news, the policy-setting body has announced it will embark on two further projects in mid-2016. The National surface transport productivity framework project will help identify what industry and governments can do to improve transport productivity, while the Who moves what where project seeks to expand the NTC's knowledge of the market structure of Australia's transport operators.