When there is a debate in Germany about whether the country is open enough to deal with future technologies, critics like to think of the Transrapid. Developed here, but used elsewhere. With another future technology, the effects of which on mobility are many times greater, this should not happen again: with autonomous driving, in the development of which German car manufacturers are investing immense sums.
Shortly before the end of the legislative period, the grand coalition passed a “law on autonomous driving” with which regular operation for autonomous driving is to be prepared through the tests that have already been possible. The justification can already be found on the first page of the draft law: “Waiting further would jeopardize the leading position of the Federal Republic of Germany in the development of automated, autonomous and networked vehicles.”
In the future, it will no longer be a question of testing new functions on the company premises or obtaining individual permits for test drives outside of the company. Rather, this should take place in specified operating areas in real traffic. Behind the simple legal definition that an autonomous vehicle is “a motor vehicle that can independently carry out the driving task in a defined operating area without a person driving the vehicle” is a wealth of complex legal and technical specifications.
The technical requirements to which the operating license for an autonomous vehicle is linked are described in detail in the law. The vehicle has to put itself, as it is called in the most beautiful legal German, “independently in a risk-minimal state” if it is not possible to continue driving without violating the traffic regulations. The question, which has been discussed again and again, as to the criteria according to which an autonomously driving vehicle should react in accident situations, is answered at least on an abstract level.
The system must not decide which human life is more important
In the case of unavoidable damage, the protection of human life has “the highest priority”, according to the law. In the event of an unavoidable endangerment to human life, the vehicle should “not carry out any further weighting based on personal characteristics”. In plain language: The system must not decide whether, in the event of an unavoidable collision, the life of a senior citizen is more important than that of the children’s group.
For the large number of test projects that are now possible on the basis of the law, a “technical supervision” was created, which must always be a natural person, that is, a human being. It must be able to deactivate the autonomous driving functions “at any time”. And also suggest driving maneuvers to the vehicle if it doesn’t know what to do next.
Politically, the government has presented a “yes, but” law. And not only because the responsible Minister of Transport, Andreas Scheuer (CSU), is probably the most controversial minister in the federal government, whose work the opposition always follows with basic distrust. But above all because the law opens up opportunities that are seen as great opportunities across all parties – but also leaves many questions unanswered from the perspective of the opposition.
“We approved the bill because it is really good,” says Oliver Luksic, the FDP’s transport policy spokesman. Luksic (“I’m an extremely tech-savvy person”) sees autonomous driving as an “exciting topic of the future”. The transport policy spokesman for the Greens, Stefan Gelbhaar, also emphasized when the law was passed in the Bundestag: “The chances of autonomous driving are there.”
Autonomous shuttles could make public transport more attractive, especially in rural areas
Politically, these opportunities are seen primarily in the development of local public transport. Driverless vehicles could open up new possibilities in urban fringe areas or in rural areas, where local public transport cannot be operated profitably due to the low number of passengers. “In the medium term, it will greatly improve public transport,” says FDP man Luksic.
This involves both self-driving shuttles that travel on fixed routes and so-called “on-demand” offers with which the often cited “last mile” can be mastered. Such a project will be tested as a field trial in Hamburg this autumn as part of the “RealLabHH”. “In the area of public transport, this is the opportunity for the area,” says the Hamburg CDU member Rüdiger Kruse, who has campaigned for state funding for the “RealLabHH” in the budget committee.
Politicians also see great potential across all parties in road safety. “Digitization offers the chance that the number of traffic accidents will decrease,” said green traffic expert Gelbhaar. His FDP colleague Luksic sees it the same way: “Road safety will definitely improve.” Siegfried Brockmann, head of accident research at the insurer, pours a little water into the wine. A study on mixed traffic has shown that many drivers are irritated by the “absolute compliance” of autonomous vehicles.
The opposition is calling for stricter liability rules – at the expense of the manufacturers
The big “but” of the opposition to Scheuer’s law is, on the one hand, related to the many unanswered questions about data protection. A wealth of data is collected and stored in autonomous driving. “The question is who is allowed to access which data,” says FDP member Luksic. The Greens see it very similarly, and CDU man Kruse also considers data use to be “one of the most important questions” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/auto/. “If you don’t clarify that, you will have problems on every corner. ” The Greens and FDP are therefore calling for their own mobility data law.
The opposition also viewed the liability problem critically. In their eyes, the government is going far too far towards manufacturers. “Introducing direct product liability in the event of accidents is obvious with autonomous vehicles,” says Stefan Gelbhaar from the Greens. The FDP also sees a clear need for improvement here. “With fully autonomous driving, the liability rules have to shift in the direction of the manufacturer,” says Oliver Luksic. Both opposition parties also find it incomprehensible that proven organizations such as TÜV or Dekra are not included in the entire approval and testing process.
A lot has to be tested in autonomous driving over the next few years. However, it is not so certain whether this only happens over short distances. Insurance expert Brockmann believes that the test of autonomous trucks on longer motorway sections would also be covered by the legal text.
In any case, the Scheuer law will not be the last word. In two years’ time it is to be reassessed in the light of the knowledge gained up to that point. “The law practically has a built-in resubmission,” says CDU MP Kruse. Nobody knows who will sit in the federal government. “The law has been passed,” said Green-traffic expert Gelbhaar, “but the debate will continue.”