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Guidelines for Testing Automated Driving Systems in Canada Version 2.0

Author(s): Conway, Phillips

Slidedeck Presentation:

CARSP Trial Guidelines Presentation_Phillips

Abstract:

Context:

Automated vehicles have the potential to improve the efficiency of Canada's transportation system, as well as increase mobility choices, offer environmental benefits and create new economic opportunities for Canadians. Most importantly, these vehicles hold the promise of safer roads. According to the 2018 National Collision Database (NCDB), 1,922 people lost their lives in motor vehicle collisions in Canada. According to NCDB data, driver behavior is a contributing factor in approximately 86% of collisions that caused death and injury in Canada.

In order to achieve the many positive outcomes promised by automated vehicle (AV) technology, it is essential that all orders of government, industry, and Canada's diverse road safety stakeholders work together to ensure that AVs are safe for Canadians. This process necessarily involves testing new technologies in the various real world environments and conditions that may be encountered across Canada.

In 2018 Transport Canada published Testing Highly Automated Vehicles in Canada: Guidelines for Trial Organizations to ensure that trials are conducted in Canada in a safe and secure manner. The document was developed to serve three key purposes: 1) to promote Canada as a destination for testing automated driving system (ADS) equipped vehicles, 2) to inform stakeholders of the roles and responsibilities of various orders of governments in approving and facilitating trials, and 3) to establish a consistent baseline of safety practices that trial organizations should follow when operating in Canada.

Since 2018, the testing of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) has continued to expand in Canada and around the globe. Over this period a number of new safety best practices and lessons learned have been observed by Transport Canada as well as our provincial and municipal colleagues that have hosted AV tests. Other best practices have been observed and documented in various formats by international regulatory counterparts, automated vehicle developers, academia and other road safety stakeholders. Recognizing this rapidly evolving knowledge base, in August 2021, Transport Canada published a revised guidelines document entitled Guidelines for Testing Automated Driving Systems in Canada Version 2.0 to ensure trials in Canada continue to be informed by the best available evidence to date on the safe conduct of ADS testing.

Objectives:

The Guidelines continue to serve three key purposes described above: 1) to promote Canada as a destination for testing ADS equipped vehicles, 2) to inform stakeholders of the roles and responsibilities of various orders of governments in approving and facilitating trials, and 3) to establish a consistent baseline of safety practices that trial organizations should follow when operating in Canada.

The AV industry continues to expand and the technology is constantly evolving. As a result, our objective was to make this document as flexible as possible. The best practices that we outline can be applied and adapted to a wide variety of testing programs based on various factors such as the vehicle type, the testing environment as well as the vehicle's use case.

Key updates included in Version 2.0 include additional administrative guidance pertaining to the approval of AV testing in Canada, as well as additional best practices associated with assessing the safety of test vehicles prior to on road tests, route selection, safety drivers and remote operations, and passenger safety among other topics. An annex with best practices specific to the testing of low speed automated shuttles was also added.

Target Group:

This document is intended for any entity seeking to test ADS-equipped vehicles in Canada including: original equipment manufacturers, technology companies, academic or research institutions, and manufacturers of parts, systems, equipment or components of ADS equipped vehicles. Recognizing that road safety is a shared jurisdiction in Canada, provincial/territorial as well as municipal governments may also choose to use this document as a reference to inform their own testing programs and safety best practices when working with trial organizations.

Activity(ies):

This document serves as a resource that provides flexible guidelines and safety best practices that can be applied and adapted to a wide array of use cases and vehicle types in various testing environments. The structure of the document is divided into four components. The first component covers the administrative procedures for conducting trials at each level of government. The other three components look at considerations that should be taken pre-trial, during the trial and post-trial.

Some notable additions to Version 2.0 include a Pathway to Approval Checklist of key steps that organizations should follow when seeking to obtain authorization to conduct a trial in Canada as well as a summary of the best practices that have been discussed throughout the document. Transport Canada has noted that there is a growing interest in organizations looking to conduct testing using varying degrees of remote support. As a result, we have included a discussion on various types of remote support and safety challenges associated with this type of testing.

Many AV trials to date in Canada have involved automated shuttles. These vehicles have a number of potential future use cases. For example, acting as a first/last mile solution to bridge gaps in under served areas for public transit users. As a result, an appendix has been included that outlines safety best practices specific to testing automated shuttles.

Other appendices in the Guidelines include tools such as an updated list of jurisdictional contacts and references to international standards and best practices such as those published by the Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium which is a group of vehicle manufacturers and technology companies focused on automated vehicle development.

The document has pulled information from various sources such as reports published on testing activities around the world and in Canada, testing guidelines published by other countries, and various international standards as well as consultations with government, (federal, provincial/territorial and municipal levels) industry, and other road safety stakeholders.

Deliverables:

This updated guidelines document outlines a broad inventory of safety best practices that can be drawn upon by organizations wishing to conduct testing of vehicles equipped with ADS. Various levels of government can also use this document as a reference to inform their testing regimes.

The guidance document is intended to be flexible, recognizing that not all of the aforementioned lessons learned (e.g. best practices for low speed shuttle testing, remote driving etc.) may be relevant or applicable to a particular trial. There are various factors that may play a role in the relevance of best practices that are used, such as the type of vehicle being tested, its use case as well as its operating environment.

Notwithstanding the diversity of trials and safety needs, a key lesson drawn from our analysis is the importance of taking a graduated, iterative approach to all types of testing, as referenced in this document, which can help mitigate many safety issues that are encountered during the testing process.

Another general takeaway from the development of this document is that AV technology continues to evolve rapidly, along with the international community's knowledge-base on safe AV testing. As a result, this document may need to be updated on a regular basis.