U.N. Plans to Set Safety Regulation Standards on Automated Driving That Can Cover All Operations under Specific Conditions

By Sho Funakoshi / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

6:00 JST, February 5, 2026

GENEVA — The United Nations plans to set safety regulation standards on the automated driving of vehicles, according to a draft of the regulation that was obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun.The regulations will anticipate Level 4 automated driving, a stage at which the system conducts all driving operations under specific conditions. They will require that the automated driving system (ADS) have the same level of safety as that of highly skilled drivers and oblige automakers to equip the cars with devices that record the running conditions.

If realized, the regulations will be the first comprehensive international safety standards that will be applied to all roads, including local streets. The United Nations aims to compile the regulations by June.Currently, there are no domestic standards on the mass production of cars that are suitable to implement Level 4 driving.

The standards planned by the United Nations will be the common form of standards in Japan. It is possible that the U.N. regulations will give a boost to the mass production of self-driving cars.

The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), an expert panel under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), is working to draw up the safety regulation standards, and Japan has led the discussion with European and some other countries.

The draft of the regulations were presented at a related meeting held in Geneva in January, and the main points of it were basically approved.

WP.29 has compiled many international standards regarding structures and parts of vehicles. Although there are regulations on automated driving only on expressways, a comprehensive regulation on the system including automated driving on local streets has not been established.

Regarding the ADS to be installed in cars, the draft stipulated, “As a general concept, this regulation requires the ADS to deliver a level of safety in mixed traffic at least equivalent to that of a competent and careful human driver.”While the regulation will not impose strict numerical goals on automakers, the draft requires the companies to prove that a level of risks caused by the system which may result in damage occurring will be sufficiently low through simulation calculations and running tests in real driving conditions.

The regulation will also oblige automakers to install devices to record and store data during automated driving, such as speeds during running, distances from nearby people or objects and camera images, among others.

If a serious accident occurs during driving or a major trouble such as a communication failure happens, automakers and other relevant companies will be required to quickly report them to authorities.

Countries that will adopt the U.N. regulation have a framework of mutual recognition under which cars equipped with the ADS can be sold without additional tests after being exported. About 60 countries, including Japan, Britain, Germany, France, South Korea and Australia, participate in the framework.

It is likely that the countries, under initiatives of Japan and European countries, will proceed with respective domestic procedures for adopting the U.N. standards.

Thus, one merit will be that an international market of vehicles with automated driving can be formed under the framework.

In Japan, it is likely that the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will compile domestic regulations that are compatible with the U.N. regulation.

If detailed regulations are established, it is expected that automakers will be able not only to sell self-driving vehicles in Japan but also export ones to other countries which will adopt the U.N. regulations, after passing screenings for the mass production of such vehicles.

On the other hand, it is uncertain whether the United States and China, which have developed technologies for automated driving earlier than other countries, will adopt the U.N. regulation.

If the two countries set their own regulation standards that are different, Japanese automakers will need to make safety measures or other features compatible with U.S. and Chinese standards for exporting these vehicles to those countries.

Automated driving is categorized according to five levels in accordance with commitments by human drivers. For Level 4, the system implements all actions necessary for running cars in recognition, judgment and control, if certain conditions on such factors as running zones and running speeds are fulfilled.

In 2023, a transportation service using the Level 4 system was permitted in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, for the first time in Japan, and tests and attempts to realize practical use of the system have begun in other parts of the nation.