FEMA: ‘Motorcycle safety has to be the highest priority when automated cars change lanes at high speeds’.

The UNECE’s World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations has adopted an amendment to UN Regulation No. 157, which extends the maximum speed for Automated Driving System (ADS) for passenger cars and light duty vehicles up to 130 km/h on motorways (the current limit is 60 km/h, which was introduced in January 2021), and allows automated lane changes. It will enter into force in January 2023 in those contracting parties which decide to apply it.

These systems can be activated only under certain conditions 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 driver can override such systems and can be requested by the system to regain control of the vehicle at any moment.

The regulation stipulates clearly that all test that need to be conducted for a system like ALKS (Automated Lane Keeping System) or LCP (Lane Change Procedure), have to be carried out with a passenger car target as well as a powered two-wheeler target. In the amendment all tests that need to be conducted are described in detail, including all the tests – both on test tracks and in real-world conditions – where a ‘motorcycle target’ is to be used.

FEMA General Secretary Dolf Willigers: “FEMA has been asking for mandatory tests for automated vehicles to include motorcycles and other powered two-wheelers for years and we are pleased to see that the amended regulation now considers riders’ safety as important as drivers’ safety. We will however keep monitoring this, to make sure that manufacturers of automated cars do not take any ‘short cuts’ in the testing procedures. FEMA thinks motorcycle safety has to be of the highest priority when automated cars change lanes at high speeds.”

In October 2016 FEMA expressed its concern about automated vehicles not being able to detect motorcycles under all circumstances, because at that point advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) were apparently not tested with motorcyclists in mind. After this, the Netherlands Vehicle Authority RDW investigated the visibility of motorcycles for vehicles with innovative driving systems that control the speed of the vehicle.

RDW’s research showed that cars with an innovative driving system are capable of noticing motorcycles. But when motorcycles are riding at the edge of their lane, the adaptive cruise control does not respond well to them. In many tests, action had to be taken by the driver of the car to prevent a collision. The UN Regulation now sets out clear performance-based requirements that must be complied with by car manufacturers before equipped vehicles can be sold. It includes provisions concerning type approval, technical requirements, audit and reporting, and testing both on test tracks and in real-world conditions.

The adopted amendment mentions the following tests that need to be conducted with a motorcycle target (for the full details of the tests, please download the document)

• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS does not leave its lane and maintains a stable motion inside its own lane across the speed range and different curvatures within its system boundaries.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS avoids a collision with a stationary vehicle, road user or fully or partially blocked lane up to the maximum specified speed of the system.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS is able to maintain and restore the required safety distance to a vehicle in front and is able to avoid a collision with a lead vehicle which decelerates up to its maximum deceleration.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS is capable of avoiding a collision with a vehicle cutting into the lane of the ALKS vehicle.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS does not leave its lane and maintains a stable motion inside its own lane across the speed range and different curvatures within its system boundaries.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS avoids a collision with a stationary vehicle, road user or fully or partially blocked lane up to the maximum specified speed of the system.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS is able to maintain and restore the required safety distance to a vehicle in front and is able to avoid a collision with a lead vehicle which decelerates up to its maximum deceleration.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS is capable of avoiding a collision with a stationary vehicle, road user or blocked lane that becomes visible after a preceding vehicle avoided a collision by an evasive manoeuvre.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS is capable of detecting another road user within the forward detection area up to the declared forward detection range and a vehicle beside within the lateral detection area up to at least the full width of the adjacent lane. If the ALKS is capable of performing lane changes, it shall additionally demonstrate that the ALKS is capable of detecting another vehicle within the front, side and rearward detection range.
• A test to demonstrate that the ALKS vehicle does not cause an unreasonable risk to safety of the vehicle occupants and other road users during a (Lane Change Procedure), that the system is capable of correctly performing lane changes, and is able to assess the criticality of the surrounding situation before starting the manoeuvre.

Written by Wim Taal

Source: UNECE

Top photograph courtesy of itu.int

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