Autonomous Driving to Enter Law: Traffic Violation Fines to Target Misleading Automakers

Summary

This week, the draft amendment to the Road Traffic Safety Law was formally submitted for initial review at the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress. The revision fills a critical gap in China's top-level legal rules for autonomous driving. The draft introduces a dedicated chapter on autonomous vehicles, marking the first national-level legal clarification of the conceptual boundaries between autonomous driving and assisted driving. It also establishes the most anticipated core liability rule: if a traffic violation occurs while an autonomous vehicle's self-driving function is activated, the vehicle manufacturer or importer will directly bear the legal consequences. If the self-driving function is not activated, or if the vehicle is an ordinary car equipped only with assisted driving, existing conventional regulations apply, and the responsibility falls on the user or actual driver. This draft aims to resolve the long-debated question of who is liable for traffic violations involving self-driving cars. It also imposes legal risks on automakers that exaggerate autonomous capabilities in marketing while actually providing only assisted driving features. For players and smart mobility enthusiasts, this legislation matters because it could reshape how car companies communicate about autonomous technology and encourage more accurate…