China Issues First Mandatory National Standard for Autonomous Driving, Setting Safety Requirements for L3/L4 Systems

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) recently released the draft for approval of "Safety Requirements for Automated Driving Systems in Intelligent Connected Vehicles," marking China's first mandatory national standard specifically targeting autonomous driving. The standard defines Level 3 (L3) and Level 4 (L4) automated driving systems and sets forth their safety requirements: L3 systems operate within a defined operational design domain (ODD) and require the user to take over when necessary, whereas L4 systems operate without human intervention within their ODD and may be designed without a steering wheel or seat belts. The standard specifies multiple concrete capability requirements for automated driving systems, including achieving 100% detection accuracy for all traffic participants, recognizing special vehicles (e.g., emergency or construction vehicles), and providing takeover requests to the human driver at least 10 seconds in advance when human intervention is needed. If the system’s capabilities become insufficient, it must execute a minimal risk maneuver, safely bringing the vehicle to a stop in a location that does not obstruct traffic. Additionally, the standard mandates automakers to establish safety documentation for their automated driving systems and provide regulators with information on the system’s intended functionality, operational logic, and other relevant details. The systems must also comply with Automotive Safety Integrity Level D (ASIL D) requirements. The standard further addresses human-machine interaction design and user notification mechanisms to ensure the safety and reliability of system operations.