How Nevada, Brussels, Tokyo and Beijing have each set rules for automated vehicles, why the 1949 road traffic convention had to change, and where liability still sits.
Self-driving car regulation covers testing, standards and liability for automated vehicles, set by treaties, regional rulebooks and national laws. Nevada legislated first in 2011, and the EU, UNECE, the US, Japan and China have since built their own frameworks.
Regulation of self-driving cars is the body of legislation that governs the testing, use and monitoring of autonomous vehicles and automated driving systems on public roads. It has grown quickly since Nevada passed the first law in 2011, and it now spans international treaties, regional rulebooks and state or national statutes. The rules differ widely, but they share a common aim: to make automated cars safe, lawful and accountable to the public.
What do self-driving car laws cover?
The rules set standards for automated vehicles, oversee their testing, and decide who answers for them. It also addresses liability, because existing laws must evolve to identify who is responsible when damage or injury occurs. The law must balance the interests of human occupants, system operators, insurers and the public purse, which can conflict in an automated crash.
Rules may reach robotaxis and self-driving trucks, depending on local law. Most jurisdictions use the levels of automation defined by SAE, which run from fully manual at Level 0 to fully automated at Level 5. The SAE wording is the de facto standard for definitions, and terms such as Operational Design Domain and Dynamic Driving Task are used alongside it.
Automated cars now sit under treaties written for human drivers, national statutes and new UN regulations, and the framework is still being completed.
When did the first self-driving laws appear?
In June 2011 Nevada became the first place in the world to legislate for self-driving. Many state, national and supranational bodies have since passed laws of their own, each with different features. Testing on public roads, as opposed to full consumer operation, was permitted in the United Kingdom in 2013, and similar laws took effect in France in 2015.
Early legislation often had to work around older rules. Many countries had written driving laws on the assumption that a human was always in control. Nevada's law was partly driven by the desire to test a driverless car on its roads, and it allowed the state to set performance standards and designate test areas.
How did the international treaties change?
The 1949 Vienna Geneva Convention on Road Traffic assumed that a driver is always fully in control and responsible for a vehicle in traffic. That principle was amended in 2016 to allow automated features, so that driving tasks could be transferred to the vehicle. The amendment was accepted by 14 January 2022 and entered into force on 14 July 2022.
There is no single harmonised worldwide framework for certifying vehicles. Some countries rely on self-certification, while others use type approval. In that arrangement, international agreements act as the global blueprint for vehicle safety, and national laws act as the rulebook for how vehicles are used on the street.
| Instrument | Date | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation 155 | Published March 2021 | Cyber security and cyber security management systems |
| Regulation 156 | Published March 2021 | Software updates and software update management |
| Regulation 157 | Published March 2021 | Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) |
| ALKS amendment | June 2022 | Speed raised from 60 km/h (37 mph) to 130 km/h (81 mph) |
What is the UNECE working party doing?
In February 2018 the UNECE Inland Transport Committee recognised the importance of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, known as WP.29, in its work on automated, autonomous and connected vehicles. It asked WP.29 to consider a dedicated working party. In June 2018 the Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear was converted into a new Working Party on Automated and Connected Vehicles, known as GRVA.
GRVA deals with safety provisions for vehicle dynamics such as braking and steering, with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, with Automated Driving Systems and with cyber security. In June 2020 the WP.29 virtual meeting approved reports on automated vehicles and on cyber security and software updates. Those reports gave rise to the cyber security and software update regulations, which together with the lane keeping rules established a UN regulation on SAE Level 3.
The changes continued. In June 2022 the 187th session of WP.29 agreed amendments that lifted the ALKS ceiling from 60 km/h (37 mph) to 130 km/h (81 mph) and set out how automated lane changes should work in cars. A new global technical regulation on Automated Driving Systems was still under development as of 2024.
How does European Union law approach automated vehicles?
Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 was adopted in November 2019 and set type approval requirements for automated and fully automated vehicles. It applies from 2022 and is based on uniform procedures and technical specifications for the systems involved. The Vehicle General Safety Regulation took effect in July 2022 and provides the legal framework for approving automated and fully driverless vehicles at Level 3 and above.
The EU also requires all new cars from 6 July 2022 to be fitted with intelligent speed assistance, classed as Level 2. The rules distinguish between fully automated vehicles without a driver seat and without occupants, fully automated vehicles with occupants, and dual-mode vehicles that can be driven manually or by the automated system without supervision. Draft legislation for vehicles with automated driving systems appeared in April 2022 and was adopted in February 2024.
What is the US federal position?
In the United States, state vehicle codes historically did not envisage highly automated vehicles, though they did not necessarily prohibit them. Many states have since passed specific laws. In 2017 the House of Representatives passed the SELF DRIVE Act unanimously, but a companion Senate bill, AV START, failed after objections over safety and liability. A comprehensive structure has still not emerged at either federal or state level.
Federal policy has developed in steps. In September 2016 the National Economic Council and the Department of Transportation released the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy, which aimed to avoid a patchwork of state laws without stifling innovation. Later updates followed in 2017, 2018 and 2020. NHTSA released draft rules on occupant protection in March 2020 and a framework for automated driving system safety in December 2020.
A significant change came on 10 March 2022, when NHTSA finalised a rule that allowed a vehicle without driving controls to comply with US regulations. Historically a car with no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedal would not have met the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. In April 2025, crash reporting rules for Level 2 assisted cars were relaxed, so incidents without a death, a hospital transfer, a struck pedestrian or an airbag deployment need not be reported.
How have US states approached testing?
About half of US states had statutes regulating vehicles with some degree of autonomous technology by December 2024. Nevada's 2011 law was supported by Google, which was developing its driverless car. The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles sets safety and performance standards and designates areas for testing. The law defines an automated vehicle as one that drives itself without the active intervention of a human operator, and it allows the operator to stop paying attention while the car drives.
Other states followed in different ways. Florida became the second state to allow testing in April 2012, and California became the third when Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1298 in September 2012. In December 2016 the California DMV told Uber to take its self-driving vehicles off the road, following two red-light violations. California now licenses testing and deployment, and Nuro was the first manufacturer licensed to deploy without a safety driver, on 23 December 2020.
Washington, DC defines an autonomous vehicle as one that navigates roadways without a driver actively operating its controls. Its rules require a manual override, a seated driver ready to take control and compliance with traffic law. Michigan became the fourth state to allow driverless testing in December 2013.
What rules apply in France and the United Kingdom?
France announced in 2014 that testing would be allowed in 2015 on 2,000 km (1,200 mi) of road, in places including Bordeaux, Isere, Ile-de-France and Strasbourg. Its first open-road demonstration took place in Bordeaux in October 2015. The Mobility Orientation Law of December 2019 set the legislative route, and an ordinance in April 2021 and a decree in June 2021 established the framework for deployment.
The United Kingdom permitted testing on public roads in 2013, when all earlier testing had been on private property. The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 received royal assent in July 2018, and the UK became a signatory to the Vienna Convention in March 2019. In 2021 it worked on a bill to allow ALKS up to 37 mph (60 km/h), and the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 received royal assent in May 2024.
The UK has also tackled marketing. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders published principles requiring that automated and assisted driving features be described clearly, so that one is not mistaken for the other. An assisted feature must not suggest that it is automated, and the driver must be shown to be in control at all times.
How are Germany, Switzerland and Norway regulating?
Germany's Federal Act amending the Road Traffic Act came into effect in July 2021. It allows motor vehicles with autonomous driving capability to operate in specified areas on public roads, which corresponds to Level 4. The law also deals with dilemma situations, including the principle of non-discrimination in unavoidable crashes, and it requires a system that can reach a minimal-risk state.
Switzerland defined its automated driving ordinance on 13 December 2024, with entry into force set for 1 March 2025. Norway passed the Act Relating to Testing of Self-driving Vehicles in December 2017, and it came into effect in 2018, allowing interested parties to test on public roads.
How do Canada, China and Japan compare?
Canada's federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act was last amended in February 2020, and Transport Canada released testing guidelines in August 2021. From 5 April 2024 British Columbia made it an offence to drive or permit the driving of automated vehicles at Level 3 and above, with a maximum penalty of a $2000 fine and 6 months imprisonment. Provincially approved pilot projects can grant exemptions.
China introduced testing rules in 2018 covering conditional, high-level and full automation. Vehicles must be tested first in non-public zones, road tests are limited to designated streets, and a qualified person must sit in the driving position. In February 2020 eleven departments issued a strategy for intelligent vehicles with a roadmap to 2025. Later measures addressed classification, data security and, in April 2025, over-the-air updates that need regulatory approval.
Japan amended its Road Traffic Act and Road Transport Vehicle Act in 2019, and both took effect in April 2020. Level 3 cars became allowed on public roads under the first act. From 1 April 2023 an amended Road Traffic Act allowed Level 4 cars to be used for transit and delivery services. The government aims to have Level 4 transport services in at least 40 locations by fiscal 2025.
What about Australia, New Zealand and Israel?
Australia is not a Vienna Convention signatory. The National Transport Commission is reforming laws toward national consistency, and in February 2022 it published a policy paper on the end-to-end framework for commercial deployment. New Zealand does not require a driver to be present, although most regulations imply one, and its Ministry of Transport was working on an autonomous vehicles programme as of April 2022.
Israel passed legislation in March 2022 allowing companies to pilot autonomous shared transport with passengers and no safety driver. Operators obtain special licences from the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, and trials may carry paying passengers.
