At the time the Convention was drafted self-driving cars were evidently not within the scope of thought of the negotiators. This raises questions about what may and may not be allowed under the Convention when it comes to technical concepts as the self-driving car. Article 8 and article 13 par. 1 are key provisions in this debate as they stipulate, in short, that every moving vehicle should have a driver who shall at any time be able to control his vehicle. In 2014 WP.1 adopted proposal amendments that should provide the necessary flexibility towards desirable developments in the field of intelligent vehicle systems. Although the proposed amendment brings some clarity about the scope of these provisions in relation to driver assistance systems, important questions remain about the levels of automation that are reconcilable with the Convention. All in all it can be concluded that a fully autonomous car (SAE-level 5; Use Case Automated Robo-taxi) will still be prohibited, even if this amendment is adopted. It may be assumed, however, that the Vienna Convention does not prohibit scale and time restricted research and demonstration projects on public roads.
Smart Mobility Community for Standards and Practices
