Chongqing - The "Regulation of the Beijing Municipality on Autonomous Vehicles" will take effect on April 1, paving the way for L3 autonomous driving technology to hit the roads. While intelligent driving vehicles are making their way onto public streets, consumer concerns remain centered on their safety and reliability.

On March 25-26, experts from CAERI and global New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) organizations convened in Chongqing Liangjiang New Area for an industry discussion. During the meeting, experts shared insights on enhancing intelligent vehicle testing to ensure autonomous driving better serves future mobility.

Mark Terrell, ANCAP's Chief Technology Officer, highlighted several challenges to ensuring the safety of autonomous driving. One of the main concerns, he explained, is human-vehicle interaction—particularly how drivers can clearly understand the vehicle's status when it is operating in autonomous mode.

Human-vehicle interaction seems to be a shared concern among global NCAP organizations. Celine Vallaude, President of the Euro NCAP Board of Directors, also emphasized this issue and explained how it is addressed in vehicle testing. 

Euro NCAP strongly emphasizes the Driver Monitoring System (DMS), which uses in-car cameras and sensors to track the condition of drivers and passengers in real time. The system provides alerts to prevent distractions caused by overreliance on autonomous driving.

On March 25, Celine Vallaude, President of the Euro NCAP Board of Directors, delivered a speech at the forum. (Photo/CAERI)

In addition to human-vehicle interaction, autonomous driving faces safety challenges posed by complex real-world road conditions. Tang Yu, Deputy Director of the Intelligent Driving and Active Safety Department at CAERI Intelligent Connected Technology Co., Ltd., said autonomous systems must effectively navigate interactions with other vehicles and perform well in varying weather conditions, such as rain and fog.

To tackle these challenges, Tang emphasized the importance of developing new testing facilities that can replicate real-world traffic conditions. He suggested creating specialized tunnels to simulate various weather and lighting conditions, such as rain, fog, and fluctuating visibility. 

For intelligent driving tests, these facilities could recreate different rainfall intensities, fog-related visibility changes, and lighting scenarios, including sunrise, sunset, and nighttime glare.

Michiel Van Ratingen, Secretary General of Euro NCAP, further stressed that autonomous driving systems must be assessed in real-world traffic conditions beyond laboratory-controlled environments. Only through such rigorous testing can the safety and reliability of autonomous driving be fully validated.

(Huan Ran, as an intern, also contributed to the report.)