Last March, Tesla had applied for approval from the FSD to the European Commission.
Subtlety of this request: Tesla used article 39 of the European regulation which establishes a framework for approval and monitoring of the motor vehicle market.
What does this article 39 imply? It allows the American manufacturer to use an exemption procedure in the classic (longer and restrictive) procedure when new technology is not yet covered by existing standards. This is the case within the EU which accuses a lot of delay in regulation for autonomous vehicles.
Thanks to this article 39, Tesla can submit a request in a single Member State and if it is accepted, it is automatically recognized in all the other countries of the Union, unless an individual objection of a State.
And this is what the Austin company did in May by asking for authorization to test its autonomous driving system in the Netherlands. Reputed to be more open in automotive innovation, the DRW (Dutch vehicle authority) authorized Tesla to test the FSD on its roads. Videos of a Tesla rolling in the city of Amsterdam without any driver’s intervention have already circulated on the web.
Belgium requested, the favorable minister
With the approval of the FSD by the Netherlands, the door is now potentially open for the entire European market.
Since its Belgian website refers to it, will Belgium be among the next countries to authorize this advanced autopilot system?
The Federal Minister for Mobility, Jean-Luc Crucke (the committed) indicates that Tesla has indeed expressed her intention to request an exemption in order to obtain an EU reception for a vehicle with a new and innovative technology “. The administration of the Minister said to the Elon Musk company that the request must be submitted by the reception authority (note: approval) of a Member State which, in Belgium, is the responsibility of the regions.
But Minister Crucke does not hide wanting to make this file “a key issue” of his mandate. “Our country cannot see this technology arrive without preparing for it. On this issue, as on so many others, collaboration with the regions is essential. In addition, discussions on this file between the mobility administrations of the regions and the federal are already underway,” he said.
While, under the old legislature, its predecessor Georges Gilkinet was not favorable to these technologies, the current minister wants on the contrary that Belgium is “a key player in the deployment of autonomous vehicles, in priority of public, shared and electric vehicles. The question of autonomous vehicles is a major issue for the mobility of tomorrow”.
Flanders is also favorable with the ambition of becoming more or less than a world leader in the research and development of autonomous vehicles. In 2023, the Flemish government also set up a task force dedicated to autonomous cars and whose objective is to set up a legal framework which will promote the establishment of companies that work on these technologies. Suffice to say that Tesla’s request will be well received.
We tested autonomous cars in California! And when is it for Europe?
The car does all alone … under the supervision of the driver
Despite its name, the Full Self-Driving that Tesla is then wished to test (and then develop on a wide scale) on European soil does not offer fully autonomous driving.
Already deployed in the United States, Canada, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico, this FSD is however a very advanced driving assistance system.
It allows the car to detect obstacles, stay in its lane or change it alone, take a highway exit, react to red lights and traffic signs, manage crossroads and intersections, park alone and get out of its parking space alone.
It is already a lot, but it is not a complete autonomy, however, since the vehicle must remain permanently under the supervision of the “driver”. It is not necessary to keep your hands on the steering wheel, but the autonomous functions can only work if the driver keeps his eyes on the road and is ready to intervene at any time. A camera system allows you to control the driver’s eyes to make sure that it remains attentive to the road.
Videos showing the functioning of this real situation in real situations are that the car manages its trips alone, including in complex situations.
“Technology has progressed a lot in recent years,” says Mario Cools, professor of the Uliège specializing in transport and mobility management. Today, for use on the highway we can say that it is ripe. ” On the other hand, with regard to urban areas, the mobility specialist is less formal as to the possibility of using it with us. “The road network of our towns and villages is not the same as in the United States. The streets are less wide and there are many more interactions with other users such as pedestrians and cyclists. In addition, in terms of security, we are used to Europe to put the cursor higher than in the United States.” Unless you limit vehicles that would operate independently at 30 km/h in urban areas, the professor of the Uliège does not think that it will be authorized in the short term in European cities.
When Galileo takes the wheel of the future European autonomous car
