Inquiry into the Social Issues Relating to Land-based Driverless Vehicles in Australia

Significant improvements to road safety and significant community benefits through reduced crashes are set to be made through the advancement and uptake of driverless vehicles. Driverless vehicles will also have a major impact to Australia’s infrastructure, through improved mobility, reduced congestion and the freeing up of land. Finally, with substantial investment into driverless vehicle technology, the potential economic gains for Australia are significant.

There are however challenges that must be faced for transitioning to autonomous vehicles. A fully autonomous road system will have a substantial impact on employment, with consequent social impacts. Another major social roadblock is public acceptance, owing to concerns such as safety, security, privacy and job losses. There is also the challenge of insurance, in terms of where the responsibility lies if there is an accident and who will pay for the insurance. Overseas governments have already started incorporating policies and initiatives to facilitate the development and introduction of automated vehicle technologies and ATSE recommends that the Commission examine these examples for how to best tackle the challenges of developing an autonomous road system.

ATSE made the following recommendations to ensure the safe and effective introduction of driverless vehicles in Australia:

• Australian governments to pursue a fully autonomous road system at the earliest feasible date
• Government authorities immediately start factoring the future impact of driverless vehicles on future road planning
• Specific regulation changes need to be made to ensure safety
• Adequate testing of road-worthiness done on driverless vehicles
• Set level of minimum technology requirements in order for driverless vehicles to be registered
• A social license to operate must be in place