CONSULTATION – How do you want to drive in an autonomous car? Will someone have to stand behind the wheel? Who will be responsible in the event of an accident? The results of a large questionnaire sent to the general public, in particular by the Automobile club association, were published this Friday. These vehicles of tomorrow are not scary … provided you provide some safeguards.

For the moment, it is only allowed to drive in France for tests. The autonomous car therefore still has a long way to go before, perhaps, becoming widespread on our roads. If only because almost everything remains to be built on the regulatory field. In order to propose a first “Highway Code for robots” as it could be desired by users, the Automobile club association and the Observatory of mobility experts (MAP) unveiled the results of their consultation on the autonomous vehicle.

This project took the form of an extremely detailed online survey tackling the question of this new mobility from all angles: regulation, maintenance, artificial intelligence, ethics or even insurance.

What comes out mainly? No way to let your imagination overflow you, “the autonomous car is above all perceived as a car. Most of the respondents indeed have a fairly classic vision, believing for example that it is necessary to hold a driving license and ‘be at least 18 years old to use it “, underlines Me Jean-Baptiste le Dall *, lawyer in road law.

This prospect does not frighten them … provided you plan some safeguards. Just over half of them believe that the user of an autonomous vehicle should still be considered a driver (51%) and that he should therefore occupy the seat behind the wheel (58%). And three quarters (76%) consider that a person should be designated on board before starting the car to take it back in hand if it can no longer circulate in autonomous mode.

And in the event of an accident? The responsibility of this so-called responsible passenger could then be engaged, according to the vast majority of respondents (83%). On this point, everything remains of course to be done, as the fictitious trial we witnessed at the end of 2018 in Paris had shown . The various responses to this questionnaire also fuel “the debate over the time it takes to get back in hand in the event of difficulty: while the manufacturers anticipate 10 seconds of delay, 40% of respondents believe that it should be limited to 5 seconds”, underlines the lawyer specializing in road law. A lapse of time that certainly allows you to take your eyes off the road but not to dive into a nap. 

Finally, this consultation reveals “a desire for standards” on the part of potential users of the autonomous car who responded. As was “already observed for scooters” before they enter the Highway Code, says the lawyer. More generally, by proposing a first regulatory framework, the results of the study are also likely, as those responsible for this project hope, to bring innovation.