This study had three objectives: 1. To identify and assess the key issues and potential impacts on vehicle registration, driver licensing and compulsory third party (CTP) insurance arrangements that might arise from the introduction of automated vehicles (AVs) in Australia and New Zealand. 2. To identify the vehicle registration, driver licensing and third party insurance rules and processes that have been put in place by overseas (and local) jurisdictions that are facilitating the testing and deployment of AVs on public roads, and assess their relevance and suitability to Australia and New Zealand. 3. To provide guidance to Austroads road agency members and other key stakeholders on what changes should be considered to support the testing of AVs on public roads in the short term, and what issues should be addressed consistently across jurisdictions to support the mass-market deployment of AVs in the longer term. The project involved five main research activities: 1. a literature review 2. stakeholder consultations 3. evaluation of key issues identified from the above activities, including the conduct of a workshop with selected stakeholders on requirements for on-road testing of AVs 4. development of guidance to Australian and New Zealand road agencies and their stakeholders to support the on-road testing of AVs 5. preparation of a report on the outcomes of all activities. The report focusses on AVs operating at automated driving levels 2, 3, 4 and 5 as classified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). In relation to Objective 1, the key vehicle registration issues derived from the study revolve around vehicle standards, compliance at market entry, compliance in-service and vehicle ownership. The key driver licensing issues revolve around driver training, driver testing and licensing. For CTP insurance, the critical issues concern the impact of AVs on no-fault and at-fault schemes, the impact of no driver being in the vehicle if a crash occurs, the impact of changing vehicle ownership models, the assignment of liability, and the impact on insurance premiums and determination of risk. In relation to Objective 2, it was concluded that vehicle registration and driver licensing rules and processes put in place by overseas (and local) jurisdictions to facilitate the testing and deployment of AVs on public roads are generally relevant and suitable for Australia and New Zealand but that some amendments would be required as we progress towards supporting market deployment. CTP rules and processes adopted in other jurisdictions do not seem directly relevant and suitable for adoption here and in New Zealand. In relation to Objective 3, it was possible from the research activities undertaken to derive guidance for most of the issues raised in relation to Objective 1. This guidance is provided in Sections 4 to 7 of the report. The guidance in this report is intended to inform an effective and consistent approach to the testing and mass-market deployment of AVs on roads operated by Austroads road agency members. (Author/publisher)
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