Automated vehicles (AVs) attract the likelihood for direct investments and social benefits (Faisal et al. 52). They can enhance mobility for adults, children, handicapped, and underserved people. The technology can expand access to employment and health care, relieve congestion, and improve fuel economy. However, without proper governance policies and structures, AVs might worsen transport issues.
Legislators and policymakers are now presenting and enacting legislation on vehicles during the first phase of development. Collaboration is necessary between the neighborhood and private industries to establish laws and regulations that encourage the secure and efficient performance of automated vehicles (Faisal et al. 55). Therefore, policies must be enacted to make sure that AVs do not undermine societal benefits.
Federal laws and regulations must conserve the power of nations, regions, and states to allow investors to pursue legitimate objectives. These agents of change play a vital role in the safe and efficient installation of AVs. Any preemptive policy ought to be prevented so that unintentional liabilities do not transfer to municipalities. For example, when security criteria and laws for AVs lack road frameworks and designs that encourage AV installation. Thus, the proposed policy will promote interoperability of automated vehicles and AV structure across assets and architecture boundaries.
Policy Recommendations
With the development of automated vehicles, it is imperative to enhance human-machine integration and establish the framework for liability accidents systems (Firnkorn and Martin 7). Regulators and policymakers are engaged in decisions concerning the governance of AVs. Recognizing and balancing the possible societal benefits of AVs will support effective regulatory standards. Leveraging investor’s strength and identifying their flaws would solve the challenge of delivering effective AV policies and affecting the manners that this technology is deployed. Good governance is vital to ease market entry and ensuring accountable deployment of AVs.
There is an immediate requirement to specify Dubai’s national, state, and local responsibilities in AV management, since the present regulatory landscapes comprise overlapping and ambiguous establishments. When frameworks and designs are explained, policymakers can embrace a liberal and a conscientious strategy to AV development, supporting creativity, and experimentation, and adopting laws that improve society.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) rank nine in the readiness index for automated vehicles because of its value on consumer approval rating (Faisal et al. 53). The UAE leads other nations on road quality and the change readiness of its infrastructure, information sharing, and willingness to adopt new policy standards. Policymakers know the value of harmonizing AVs regulations, although it is not a simple task. Harmonization facilitates innovation to disperse among nations, therefore, conveying the societal benefits. Policy harmonization allows investors to redirect their energy in the technological invention, eliminating the burden of regulatory compliance (Faisal et al. 54).
Thus, policy harmonization supports legal confidence and certainty. Policy integration can be a lengthy and intensive procedure because most countries resist the option to cede their sovereignty by altering regulations established on specific contexts (Coppola and Maurizio 49). However, the Emirate Council can use complex tools and models, which facilitate harmonization without requiring a shift in the legislation. The policy proposal to maximize the societal benefits of autonomous vehicles in Dubai draws its data from the advantages of AVs.
Road Safety
Human error is an integral contributor to road crashes, unlike AVs, where computers make superior diving decisions. These complex systems can sense, understand, and respond much quicker than individuals react. It anticipates that self-driving vehicles may radically enhance street safety. AVs transportation will be efficient since it would integrate with management facilities, road infrastructure, and assets. Thus, an effective AVs policy will enhance the smooth functioning of vehicles, improved comfort, and reliability of public transportation.
Lower Cost of Transportation
Steam lined mapping and travel planning will reduce fuel costs and automobile efficiency. It is expected that the automobile ownership model might change from a single control of shared ownership. The expense of transport is anticipated to decrease by 45 percent.
Improved Productivity
AVs transportation could spare time spent cruising for drivers performing other jobs. If AVs become fully deployed, new automobile designs can optimize passenger efficiency, supplying workstations, rest pods, and entertainment units. It is anticipated that the AVs would increase human productivity by 15 percent.
Proposed Policy on the Code of AVs Testing
To facilitate technological growth for societal benefits, Dubai must enact policies for autonomous testing programs that permit rapid development and live presentations. The British testing law is a liberal approach that removes evaluation licenses since the vehicles are secure and roadworthy concerning their collision testing and insurance. The USA testing program is a license-based policy that allows explicit controls for the automobile operator but provides user independence to conduct public presentations. This proposal will consider a level-based strategy that unites a liberal and encouraging approach of automotive sellers while allowing a controlled licensing and acceptance process to ensure public safety.
The policy on the code of AVs testing will enforce standards in analyzing autonomous vehicles. Automated vehicle testing will be conducted in stages to guarantee general security and efficiency. Upon fulfilling all safety laws and standards, the technology should be approved for public roads. This policy can examine, design, and execute an incorporated testing facility that will hasten this procedure and attract investors to take part in Dubai’s autonomous vehicles development.
Proposed Legislative Reform
The aim of legislative reforms centers on human safety. The laws on social protection will be integrated with the testbed, along with other foreign regulatory authorities (Chen et al. 123). The law permits experts to observe and report AVs challenges during public presentations. The policy provides coverage for investor’s confidentiality and the passenger’s rights to privacy. Therefore, the legislative law will prioritize the standards of the on-board data recorder. The proposed legislation will cover the transition to an automated driver and the board’s review of references to a legal driver. This law influences the duties to be suitably certified, careful, and free of alcohol and drugs. Remote operators who recover deficient transit vehicles will be regarded as legal motorists when in control of a car or truck.
The regulatory action will define the responsibilities and obligations between different complex systems that affect the automobile’s awareness and decision-making. Under this law, they will be modalities for collaborative integration with global bodies to create a group of harmonized regulations (Faisal et al. 60). The code of AVs testing should be effective to enforce close observation and identify solutions that show the capability AVs to recover from minimal threat state when the need arises. The assessment and certification of applications and programs introduce a selection of new legal conditions that represent the passenger automobiles and service models.
Policy on Automobile Connectivity
Having a real-time connection between automobiles and the system architecture is an integral necessity for fleet operations and other teleoperation or distant services necessary for commercial vehicles and privately owned automobiles. The policy introduces regulations on signal period and time, which reduce frictional energy and enhances flow via signalized junctions. Under this regulation, AVs will enjoy real-time traffic requirements, work zones, traffic events, and conditions. AVs may also enjoy prognostic demand modeling and route dispatching to empower efficient management of each vehicle.
Policy on Cyber Security
AVs cyber protection requires resilience during unforeseen system occurrences such as network failure, the resistance against deliberate cyber-attack and invulnerability of aggressive intention such as terrorist attacks (Faisal et al. 65). Most global regulatory authorities have tried to establish an agreement on the cybersecurity layout that enables the convergence of complex systems blueprint with operational and infrastructure solutions. As a result, Dubai must enact privacy and security standards consistent with global best practice. Legislation must be enacted to empower officers to detect and punish cyber attackers.
The constitution of the UAE shields private rights and property. Therefore, AVs investors must adhere to regulations and global practice, honor passenger privacy rights, and accept substantial obligations for cybersecurity attacks. The proposed policy will allow AV owners, operators, and investors to share information during cyber-attacks and upgrade all automobile system architecture.
Policy on AVs Liability and Insurance
Insurance of AVs concentrates on the vehicle’s systems and application interface with links architecture and other complex assets (Faisal et al. 67). Formerly the driver bears the obligations linked to the automobile unless it is demonstrated that there had been an equipment defect from the manufacturer. Some authorities are advocating a ‘no-fault coverage’ where the insurer manages the liabilities.
However, some jurisdiction accepted some existing legal mechanisms to link the automobile maker and the service provider. Since AVs technology evolves and becomes universal, the elimination of human error will prevent road incidents, reduce insurance costs, and compensation plans. Thus, UAE policy concerning insurance must be revised to assign liability to the AV owner or investor. The policy proposes a single insurer model instead of relying on commodity liability regulation to link with investors.
Policy on Road Design and Digital Mapping
3D electronic mapping of streets is a necessity for the secure operations of autonomous automobiles (Coppola and Maurizio 48). The technology provides data for real pictures during shuttles using a digital architecture called SLAM. The mapping policy for AVs must include street markers and road signs that are physically installed and programmed for visual comprehension besides being encoded into electronic maps. If implemented, this policy can provide a substantial price reduction and facilitate AVs development.
Policy on System Readiness
The operational testing of AVs will be conducted under global best practices. AVs manufacturers have undertaken substantial work along with the associated standards for automobile interfaces have been modified from the top standards bodies in Europe (Faisal et al. 69). In contrast, system preparation is slow as it relates to services efficiency and delivery. It reflects the immaturity of the control policy and the absence of standardization laws.
The policy will support the development of an effective management plan and operations capacity in different cities. Dubai ‘connects cloud’ may be utilized as the hosting system for automobile programming, routing payment, and data software (Cottam 16). Policy on system preparedness and operational testing will facilitate AVs deployment and include the positive ranking of its readiness index.
Policy Features
Concerning policy preference, it should be highlighted that the efficiency of indirect management options will severely diminish after the AVs installation. Providing quality public transport distribution is viewed as another powerful management approach. However, decreasing costs for private transport bridges the cost gap between commercial and private transportation (Chen et al. 100). This attribute makes it difficult to compensate for the negative characteristics of public transportation, like transfers, monitoring, and privacy issues. Therefore, in situations where AVs create inter-modality, it is empirical proof that shows the consequences of price gaps in transportation.
A negative user cost of commercial transportation is not an alternative since it creates unreasonable heights of induced demand, far higher than the current experience. To mitigate the outcome of inefficient legislative reforms, Dubai authorities must modify its laws to guarantee efficient commercial transportation. The government may increase financial funds for subsidizing public transportation, even higher than the current value as these subsidies are justified by the prevention of adverse externalities from personal transport.
Another option to regulate AVs would be to enforce that a physical driver is used in all autonomous vehicles. However, such enforcement is adverse and negatively affects the benefits of autonomous vehicle transportation. While these constraints would permit the technologies for mobility-impaired passengers, they will hinder vehicle sharing and autonomous parking (Dia and Farid 290). AVs should not be preferred over private vehicles because they do not exhibit social advantages to warrant such benefits. However, banning car use would be too restrictive and could hamper the benefits connected with AVs.
Autonomous vehicle development can expand access to employment and health care, relieve congestion, and improve fuel economy. However, without proper governance policies and structures, AVs might worsen transport issues. Legislators and policymakers are now presenting and enacting legislation on vehicles during the first phase of development. Collaboration is necessary between the neighborhood and private industries to establish laws and regulations that encourage the secure and efficient performance of automated vehicles. Therefore, policies must be enacted to make sure that AVs do not undermine societal benefits.
Summary of Policy Proposal and Law
Policymakers know the value of harmonizing AVs regulations, although it is not a simple task. Harmonization facilitates innovation to disperse among nations, therefore, conveying the societal benefits. Policy harmonization allows investors to redirect their energy in the technological invention, eliminating the burden of regulatory compliance. Thus, policy harmonization supports legal confidence and certainty. Policy integration can be a lengthy and intensive procedure because most countries resist the option to cede their sovereignty by altering regulations established on specific contexts. However, the Emirate Council can use complex tools and models, which facilitate harmonization without requiring a shift in the legislation.
- Policy on the code of AVs testing: This policy allows researchers to examine and execute an incorporated testing facility that will attract investors in Dubai. The policy on the code of AVs testing will enforce standards in analyzing autonomous vehicles.
- Legislative reform: The evaluation and certification of applications and programs introduce a selection of new legal conditions that represent the passenger automobiles and service models.
- Policy on automobile connectivity: The proposed plan will allow AV owners, operators, and investors to share information during cyber-attacks and upgrade all automobile system architecture.
- Policy on AVs liability and insurance: The policy proposes a single insurer model instead of relying on commodity liability regulation to link with investors.
- Policy on road design and digital mapping: This policy can provide a substantial price reduction and facilitate AVs development.
- Policy on system readiness: Policy on system preparedness and operational testing will facilitate AVs deployment and include the positive ranking of its readiness index.
Works Cited
Chen, Yuche, et al. “Quantifying Autonomous Vehicles National Fuel Consumption Impacts: A Data-Rich Approach.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, vol. 122, no. 1, 2017, pp. 134-145.
Coppola, Riccardo, and Maurizio Morisio “Connected Car: Technologies, Issues, Future Trends.” ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 49, no. 3, 2016, pp. 46-54.
Cottam, Bobby. “Transportation Planning for Connected Autonomous Vehicles: How It All Fits Together.” Journal of the Transportation Research Board, vol. 2672, no. 52, 2018, pp. 12-19.
Dia, Hussein, and Farid Javanshour. “Autonomous Shared Mobility-On-Demand: Melbourne Pilot Simulation Study.” Transportation Research Procedia, vol. 22, no. 3, 2017, pp. 285-296.
Faisal, Asif, et al. “Understanding Autonomous Vehicles: A Systematic Literature Review on Capability, Impact, Planning and Policy.” The Journal of Transport and Land Use, vol. 12, no. 1, 2019, pp. 45-72.
Firnkorn, Joerg and Martin Müller. “Free-Floating Electric Car Sharing-Fleets in Smart Cities: The Dawning of a Post-Private Car Era in Urban Environments?.” Environmental Science & Policy, vol. 45, no. 3, 2015, pp. 1-11.