Quantifiable Safety Metrics and AV Standards Governing AI Decision-Making Prior to Commercial Deployment on Public Roads

Mr Alex Yeo asked the Acting Minister for Transport (a) whether LTA has specific, quantifiable safety metrics in the two-stage Deployment Readiness Assessment that Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) must meet; (b) if so, what are these standards; and (c) whether Technical Reference 68 will be further enhanced or a formal set of AV standards that governs artificial intelligence decision-making protocols will be introduced before the first commercial AVs are allowed on the roads.

The deployment readiness assessment framework for autonomous vehicles (AVs) sets out technical performance and public acceptance metrics that must be met before the AVs are allowed to take passengers and eventually progress to driverless operations. These include clocking sufficient distance within the actual deployment route without the need for intervention by safety operators, and the ability to handle various traffic scenarios presented within the authorised geo-fenced area.

Technical Reference 68, which serves as guidelines for the AV industry in Singapore, was last updated in 2021 and is currently being reviewed. In the meantime, AV deployments will continue under the existing authorisation regime.