On March 29, the second session of the Standing Committee of the 14th Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress reviewed the revised draft of the province's road traffic safety regulation, which, for the first time, made provisions for autonomous driving.

According to the revised draft, during the road testing or driving of automated vehicles at three levels, from conditional to high and full automation, data related to the vehicle's location, operation status, driving mode, and monitoring videos at least 90 seconds before the occurrence of an accident or malfunction should be recorded and stored.

In addition, information continuity and integrity should be maintained, and the data should be stored for at least 30 days.

In the event of traffic accident, relevant parties such as car manufacturers, autonomous driving system developers, and equipment providers should cooperate with the traffic management department.

(CFP Photo)

The draft also requires the drivers to abide by the road traffic regulation and the vehicle instruction in using conditionally and highly automated vehicles. When in autonomous driving, the driver needs to stay in the driver's seat, monitor the operation status and the surrounding environment, and take over the car immediately in case of a takeover request or if it's unsuitable for autonomous driving.

If conditionally or highly automated cars violate traffic laws, the driver shall be held responsible in according to law. In the case of traffic violations by fully automated vehicles, both the vehicle owner and operator shall bear the legal responsibility.

Furthermore, the road testing, application demonstration, market access, registration, and management of automated vehicles, from conditional to high and full automation, will follow relevant national and provincial regulations.