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- They drive themselves: fully autonomous cars will appear on the roads of the Russian Federation
They drive themselves: fully autonomous cars will appear on the roads of the Russian Federation
Highly automated vehicles (VATS) may appear on all Russian highways and tramways. This is provided for by the draft federal law developed by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. It provides a legislative framework for the development of self-driving cars in the future, experts say. However, for the widespread use of such machines in cargo transportation in practice, it is necessary to resolve a number of other significant issues, experts in the transport industry emphasize. The details are in the Izvestia article.
Risks and responsibilities
The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation has developed a draft law on highly automated vehicles. The document is published on the portal of draft regulatory legal acts. It is assumed that from September 1, 2027, unmanned vehicles will be able to operate on all roads and tram tracks in Russia, including the fourth (the system controls the vehicle completely, but does so only in pre-defined zones) and fifth (driverless movement on any routes) levels of autonomy. At the same time, unmanned vehicles with the fourth or fifth level of autonomy will be able to "move automatically only when connected to the mandatory remote support service." In case of loss of communication with it, the vehicle is obliged to perform a "minimum risk maneuver", that is, to perform "a sequence of actions aimed at minimizing the risks of an accident and ensuring road safety in the event of a critical malfunction of the automated driving system."
Any VTS must be equipped with the ERA-GLONASS system, a data registration device, have a CTP policy, and its automated system must comply with traffic regulations. According to the bill, in the event of an accident caused by autopilot, responsibility (depending on the severity and consequences, civil, administrative or criminal) falls on the "manufacturer and developer of the software." If the incident occurred "due to violations of operating rules, untimely software updates or interference with the operation of the system, then the owner and operator of the drone are responsible for it."
"The maintenance and repair of the VTS, including software updates, is carried out by the manufacturer of the VTS or an authorized service center. Maintenance and/or repairs by other persons are not allowed," the bill says.
Without experimentation
Currently, the operation of the VTS is carried out only in several regions of the country and only on certain roads, within the framework of two experimental legal regimes (EPR). For example, self-driving cars drive along the M-11 Neva and TsKAD highways. They are also expected to appear on the M-12 Vostok highway this year. According to the Ministry of Transport, 95 unmanned trucks ply the highways, which have already traveled a total of more than 9.5 million km. In addition, unmanned taxis are operating in some areas of Moscow, as well as in Innopolis and the federal territory of Sirius. At the same time, the current EPR expires in 2028 — after that, without the adoption of the proposed law, the movement of WATTS in Russia will become impossible, the Ministry of Transport notes.
"The adoption of the draft federal law after the expiration of the experimental legal regimes No. 1849 and No. 2495 will make it possible to "legalize" the movement of WATS on all highways and tramways of the Russian Federation. It is expected that by 2050 Russia will become a leader in the introduction of unmanned technologies, and 50% of all vehicles will be unmanned," the explanatory note to the document says.
The Ministry of Transport emphasizes that the widespread use of unmanned vehicles in the Russian Federation will increase the speed of cargo delivery by 30%, reduce the risk of accidents by 20%, and reduce fuel and component costs. Savings per year in the absence of a driver at the wheel will amount to about 16 million rubles with a fleet of 100 watts (the plan until 2030 is 1.7 thousand watts).
However, as follows from the accompanying documents to the draft law, its adoption will require amendments to a number of other laws and other regulatory legal acts. For example, it is necessary to develop and approve territories and zones where the operation of a VTS will be prohibited, determine the procedure and requirements for the professional training of remote support operators and remote drivers, the specifics of their work and rest regime. It will also require regulation of the procedure and rules for the development and implementation of requirements for auxiliary infrastructure, the specifics of passenger, baggage and cargo transportation by unmanned vehicles.
According to the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Andrey Nikitin, for the functioning of unmanned vehicles, including trucks, cars, taxis and various public transport, it is necessary to develop a matrix of "digital counterparts" of highways. At the same time, the now familiar control of the car will soon be considered exotic, he believes.
— In 20 years, manual car driving will be as exotic as horseback riding. Most likely, it will be, but at landfills, for the pleasure of people. Just like they are doing sports on horses now, no one rides in Moscow," said the head of the Ministry of Transport.
Work for the future
The proposals of the Ministry of Transport do not mean that in two years thousands of unmanned vehicles will appear on all roads of the country at once, said Igor Morzharetto, a member of the presidium of the public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. So far, the necessary legislative framework is only being created for the WATS, he stressed.
— This document sets out the basic requirements and rules for the operation of such machines. It is actually the basis on which other laws, resolutions and orders will be created or adjusted accordingly so that when disembodied cars become a mass phenomenon, the legal component for them will already be properly regulated," Igor Morzharetto told Izvestia.
The appearance of the draft law on unmanned vehicles can only be welcomed, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine. And it's good that he appeared right now, when WATTS is still more exotic than a familiar means of transportation, he is sure.
— It will be too late to develop and adopt such a law when self-driving cars become widespread. While there are still a few of them, you can see how one or another of its norms works, if necessary, adjust or correct something. This will make it possible not to make any emergency decisions at a time when drones are already becoming commonplace," Maxim Kadakov believes.
The proposed bill is primarily a foundation for the future, agrees Taras Koval, Vice President of the Association of Transport Experts and Specialists. However, for the widespread use of unmanned vehicles in practice, especially in cargo transportation, it is necessary to resolve a number of significant issues, he emphasizes.
— When cargo transportation is carried out on a regular truck, the carrier is responsible for the safety of the cargo on the way. His representative, the driver, is responsible for compliance with traffic regulations and controls the correct placement of cargo in the back of the car, its secure fastening. It is still unclear who will take on all these issues in cargo transportation by unmanned vehicles," said Taras Koval.
There are other, more "mundane" problems that need to be solved before the mass launch of self-driving cars. For example, to determine who and how will be able to fix a technical malfunction with such a car that has occurred on the way, especially taking into account the requirements that maintenance and repair of such cars can only be carried out by their manufacturer.
— If an ordinary car has a flat tire or a light bulb in the headlight burns out on the way, then the driver will cope with this problem without problems in the shortest possible time. But what to do in the same situation with a drone when there is no driver in its cabin? Wait for an entire repair team to replace the same light bulb or a punctured wheel? This will lead to long—term downtime of equipment and disruption of cargo delivery times," Taras Koval said.
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