Clarity on fleet “walkaround” checks needed for autonomous vehicles
Clarity is being sought into how fleet “walkaround” safety checks will be completed as autonomous vehicles (AVs) start to arrive on European roads, an issue Ireland could one day be faced with.
FleetCheck, a fleet software specialist in the UK, points out the legislation surrounding the introduction of AVs, which are already being trialled in taxi form on London streets, provides no direct answer.
“The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 creates two roles – the Automated Driving System Entity (ADSE), which is usually the manufacturer or developer, and the No‑User‑In‑Charge (NUIC) operator, meaning the company operating the service,” said Neil Avent, chief technical officer at FleetCheck.
“These together are legally responsible for identifying safety relevant issues and ensuring the vehicle is safe to operate – but the absence of a human who can carry out a regular visual check to confirm the AV is OK to use is a very real problem that requires clarity.
“Certainly, it is a massive change from how vehicle safety is currently evaluated. There can be no traditional walkaround check if there is driver to walk around.”
FleetCheck also said that it was “highly unlikely” that initial AV designs would be unable to replace a human when it came to assessing key aspects of roadworthiness identified during a visual check.
“In time, more comprehensive technological solutions may become available to replace visual checks and already, it is at least potentially possible that factors such as tyre pressures could be monitored remotely.
“However, it is currently somewhere between difficult and impossible for vehicle sensors to spot issues such as damaged tyres or alloy wheels, which could have serious safety implications if they fail at speed,” said Avent.
For this reason, manual checks of AVs would probably need to be built into NUIC operating schedules, perhaps to coincide with AV charging, added Avent.