Shenzhen Outer Ring Expressway in Guangdong province. [Photo/Baoan Daily]
Shenzhen, a city that pioneered reform and opening-up in China, will allow fully autonomous vehicles to run on certain roads, as the city in Guangdong province unveiled the nation's first regulation tailored for smart and internet-connected vehicles.
The new regulation, scheduled to come into force on Aug 1, also clarified rules for liability in car accidents that involve autonomous driving, helping to fill the legal gap in China's smart car industry.
Shenzhen is giving self-driving cars a legal "identity card", a key move in accelerating the co妹妹ercialization of autonomous vehicles, experts said, adding that more legal measures and more testing experience are needed before widening such trials.
The new regulation said automakers don't necessarily have to e去疤膏，quip fully autonomous vehicles with human driving modes and equipment, nor must they have human drivers.
But such fully automated vehicles can only run on certain roads and sections designated by Shenzhen's traffic management department, according to the regulation, which was published on the official website of Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress on Tuesday.
The new regulation classified autonomous vehicles into three types: conditionally autonomous driving, highly autonomous driving and fully autonomous driving.
新規将主動駕驶汽車分為三類：有前提主動駕驶、高度主動駕驶和彻底主動駕驶。
The former two types of vehicles must have human control equipment and drivers, the regulation added.
新規指出，前两種主動駕驶汽車必需配备人工駕驶装备和駕驶员。
The regulation also clarified rules for liability in car accidents that involve autonomous 減脂茶，driving. For autonomous driving vehicles with a driver, the driver is台北外約, held responsible for accidents and compensation.
For fully autonomous vehicles without a driver, the owner or the user of the vehicle is held responsible for accidents and compensation.
對付没有駕驶员的彻底主動駕驶汽車，變乱责任由車辆所有人、辦理人承當。
In a traffic accident, if the damage is caused by the defects of a vehicle, the driver, the owner or the user of the vehicle, after paying for the bill, can request compensation from the manufacturer or seller of the car in accordance with laws, the regulation said.
Yu Qian, CEO and founder of QCraft, a Chinese self-driving startup, said, "China's autonomous driving industry is entering a golden development period, with policies becoming increasingly clear and open, and technologies and algorithms becoming more powerful."