The success of this experiment testifies to the increasing use of autonomous vehicles, and to address the shortage of drivers on public transport. Benoit Perin, CEO of EasyMile, the company behind EZ10, believes ” This is an important step towards the true commercialization of autonomous driving on private sites and public roads. ⁇ In his opinion, human presence on the ship is no longer necessary and the shuttle will always be subject to “remote supervision”. This feature paves the way for future developments, as it allows a single centralized control center to simultaneously control a group of multiple autonomous vehicles.

French law on autonomous driving

France began the transition to autonomous vehicles on July 1, 2021, with the signing of an amendment to the Highway Code to allow the testing of automated driving vehicles on public roads. In doing so, France became the first European country to adopt road restrictions to allow fully automated vehicles to operate on public roads. This is the latest piece of legislation, an update of the National Strategy for the Development of Autonomous Vehicles, published in May 2018. The text of the legislation was published by the French government approving the provisions of the Code of Roads and Transport, respectively. Vehicles equipped with delegated driving systems and automated road transport systems on pre-determined routes or areas from September 2022.

The new decree makes various additions to French traffic legislation, such as updating the criminal liability system. This allows the driver to be released from liability in accordance with the Terms of Use upon activation of the automated driving system. It also describes the level of attention required from the driver when activating an automated driving system. In addition, the recently published decree is considered an important development, the importance of which was underscored by Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Jebbari. In his opinion, this order allows “Take another step into the dynamics of the future”. He counts it “France has established itself as one of the first countries to legislate to accommodate autonomous vehicles. From today, we give our manufacturers and transport operators the visibility they need to develop them – tomorrow, we will enable them. ⁇

Advances in Autonomous Driving Across the European Union

Until July 28, 2021, legal regulations in Germany will only allow a driver up to SAE Level 3 to use the vehicle regularly. However, the new legislation, introduced in July, means that a driver is no longer required and allows SAE Level 4 “self-driving functions” to be used in routine operation in defined areas. This puts German legislation at the same level as France. German autonomous driving law focuses primarily on commercial operating conditions, such as shuttle traffic, public transportation, and Hub2Hub traffic. In addition, the growth of new mobility services, especially in the area of ​​digital travel intermediaries and carpooling services, was encouraged during the reform of German law on passenger transport. To do this, Germany passed legislation in 2022 that would allow companies to deploy robotic taxis and driverless delivery services on public roads at some point.

Elsewhere in the EU, Ireland has become a European tech hub when it comes to next-generation companies and technologies for connected mobility. For example, Jaguar Land Rover has established a major software engineering research center in Shannon, which is considered a world-renowned center for software engineering skills. General Motors (GM) Ireland is working on future technologies for autonomous solutions, carpooling and safe driving. The GM Group aims to lead the future of individual mobility through the integration of electrification, autonomous vehicles, connectivity and shared mobility services. International companies are starting to use autonomous vehicles in Ireland.

In addition, the French automotive supplier Valio also chose Ireland to develop its autonomous vehicle technology. Its sensors, which act like the eyes and ears of a vehicle, are an integral part of autonomous driving. Headquartered in Tuam, its research and development center is a world-class reference for sight and automated parking systems.

Across the European Union, governments are actively taking steps to regulate autonomous driving in their own countries. In particular, the European Commission is developing regulations to support the future deployment of connected and autonomous vehicles. As the new European legislation is not yet complete, car manufacturers and software providers will have to analyze their liability by country to assess their potential exposure. Meanwhile, EU countries such as France, Germany and Ireland have taken steps to use self-driving vehicles on public roads. These countries are currently filling the gaps in imperfect European controls and are moving towards unifying the future of autonomous driving in the face of these circumstances.

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