Seite - (000180) - in Autonomes Fahren - Technische, rechtliche und gesellschaftliche Aspekte

Autonomous Driving – Political, Legal, Social, and Sustainability Dimensions168 8.5 Analysis Autonomous driving is only slowly emerging as a concept known to all but a small com- munity of experts. It is not deeply anchored in European mobility discourses, strategies, or outlooks. Yet there is some linking of autonomous driving technologies to other strategic concerns, including competitiveness of the automotive industry, sustainable mobility, safety, and the elderly. The framing of autonomous driving varies by national context, reflecting the dominant concerns of different regions. In the United States, where there are over 30,000 traffic deaths each year, safety issues are brought to the fore. In Japan, which has been faced by a long economic slump, competitiveness is a top priority. In Sweden, autonomous driving is being linked to sustainable mobility. In Germany, it is high-end automobiles that are being fitted with autonomous driving technology, suggesting the importance of being at the technological cutting edge in the luxury automobile market. As autonomous vehicle technologies advance, debates in Europe and abroad may shift, but for the time being it appears that the commercialization and wide-spread use of fully automated driving vehicles remains a distant vision. Innovations in autonomous driving technologies are being presented as important for technological leadership in the automobile sector across all of the jurisdictions examined here even if autonomous vehicles are not yet seen as commercially viable. In the United States, regulatory competition is emerging among states eager to be seen as frontrunners in systems that could make traffic safer and traffic flows smoother. State- level actors are boasting their regulatory initiatives to show their state’s technological leadership. Leadership in realizing “science fiction” visions may be important for long- term competitiveness. This could either be seen as a kind of “Delaware effect”, with states competing to attract industries to their region with the provision of favorable regulatory environments, or conversely, a “California effect,” where states compete with each other by establishing the more advanced regulatory standards to promote technological innova- tion and competitive advantage within their own states [49]. In Japan, politicians are sending the message to consumers (both domestic and overseas) that autonomous driving technologies can be linked to Japanese technologi- cal strengths in robotics, electro-mobility and energy efficiency, to produce next genera- tion automobiles. The Swedish government is among the most ambitious in its aim to commercialize autonomous driving vehicles by 2020 and set “sustainable mobility” into motion. The German government has done little to initiate broader discussions about autono- mous driving. While the Transport Ministry has organized a stakeholder platform at the national level, it has not tried to stimulate wider public debates at the German national level or as part of official consultations at the European level. The main push for greater discussion and strategizing has come from stakeholders. Volvo, for example, has been quite active at the EU level as has the German automobile association (VDA). Also component suppliers such as Continental and ICT companies have lobbied for more support.