UNECE - GRVA - UN Regulation on Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) for Level 3 Automation Vehicles

On June 25, 2020, the UNECE announced the release regulation on Automated Lane Keeping Systems on level 3 vehicle automation.

The Regulation requires that on-board displays used by the driver for activities other than driving when the ALKS is activated shall be automatically suspended as soon as the system issues a transition demand, for instance in advance of the end of an authorized road section. The Regulation also lays down requirements on how the driving task shall be safely handed back from the ALKS to the driver, including the capability for the vehicle to come to a stop in case the driver does not reply appropriately.

• Emergency Manoeuvres, in case of an imminent collision
• Transition Demand, when the System asks the driver to take back control
• Minimum Risk Manoeuvres - when the driver does not respond to a transition demand, in all situations the system shall minimise risks to safety of the vehicle occupants and other road users

About the UN Regulation on Automated Lane Keeping Systems

ALKS activation criteria:

• The driver is in the driver seat with safety belt fastened
• The driver is available to take over control of the driving task
• No failure affecting the safe operation or some functionalities of the system is detected
• DSSAD is operational
• Positive confirmation of system self-check
• The vehicle is on roads where pedestrians and cyclists are prohibited and which, by design, are equipped with a physical separation that divides the traffic moving in opposite directions
• The environmental and infrastructural conditions allow the operation;

Driver Availability Recognition System:

• Driver presence
• Driver availability
• Actions taken when driver is deemed unavailable
• Criteria for deeming driver availability:
  • The driver deemed to be unavailable unless at least two availability criteria (e.g. input to driver-exclusive vehicle control, eye blinking, eye closure, conscious head or body movement) have individually determined that the driver is available over the last 30 seconds
• Actions taken when driver is deemed unavailable

Data Storage System for Automated Driving (DSSAD)  

The system will record the following events:

• Activation of the system
• Deactivation of the system (e.g. override on the steering wheel)
• Transition Demand by the system (e.g. planned, unplanned etc.)
• Reduction or suppression of driver input
• Emergency Manoeuvre
• Involved in a detected collision
• Minimum Risk Manoeuvre engagement by the system
• Failures

DSSAD data shall be available subject to requirements of national law.

This regulation will be assessed by Technical Services and is part of the Whole Vehicle Type Approval regulatory framework already adopted by the EU.

See more information on the link herein included.

Entry into force: January 2021