China will reform the Road Safety Act and for the first time it will have specific rules for autonomous vehicles – which are expanding in the country with tests and trade operations.
© Lusa
25/08/2026
by
Lusa
Os autonomous vehicles are expanding in the China, which is preparing a reform of the Road Safety Act. And for the first time, it will provide specific standards for this type of vehicle – in a period of technological expansion.
The bill to amend the law was presented today for an initial assessment to the Permanent Committee of the National People's Assembly, the maximum legislative body, informed the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.
The text, composed of nine chapters and 170 articles, includes “special provisions” for self-propelled vehicles, defines the concepts of autonomous vehicle and driving assistance function and also addresses the regulation of electric bicycles and new problems related to road safety.
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Where an autonomous vehicle commits a traffic violation with the autonomous driving function activated, it shall be the responsibility of the manufacturer or importer of the car, according to Xinhua.
On the other hand, autonomous vehicles which operate without that activated function, as well as cars equipped only with driving assistance systems, shall be subject to the rules applicable to non-autonomous vehicles.
The proposal arises after the Chinese authorities have strengthening the supervision of autonomous driving following an incident in april, in the city of Wuhan, in the center of the country, which led to a temporary review of the granting of new licences for robots.
More than a hundred autonomous vehicles of the technological giant Baidu were suddenly immobilized in the streets of Wuhan, one of the largest urban centers in the country, causing several calls to the traffic police and leaving passengers temporarily detained, although no accidents or injuries were recorded.
The episode led to a sector safety review before the authorities gradually resumed granting new authorisations.
Companies such as Baidu, Pony.ai and WeRide have developed testing programs and commercial operations of robots in various Chinese cities.
The sector also has the presence of foreign manufacturers, such as North American Tesla, who seeks to expand the capabilities of their vehicles' assisted driving systems in China.