On April 1, the Regulations of Beijing Municipality on autonomous vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) came into force. The Regulations clearly encourage and support the technological innovation and industrial development of autonomous vehicle, which not only provides a legal basis for the legal launch of higher level autonomous vehicle, but also promotes the commercialization of autonomous technology, infrastructure construction, data security management and other aspects of development. According to the "Classification of Automotive Driving Automation", driving automation is divided into 6 levels from L0 to L5: L0 level is driver driven, L1 and L2 levels are dominated by human drivers with system assistance; Starting from Level L3, vehicle control is gradually handed over to the auto drive system. Level L3 is conditional automatic driving, Level L4 is highly automatic driving, and Level L5 is fully automatic driving. The autonomous vehicle referred to in the Regulations refers to the vehicle that can be operated by the auto drive system to drive safely on the road, including the vehicle with conditional autonomous driving, highly autonomous driving, and fully autonomous driving functions according to national standards, that is, L3 level and above autonomous driving. The basic idea of the Regulations is to establish a standardized autonomous vehicle management system, ensure the organic balance between the landing and application of autonomous driving technology and safety assurance, and promote the orderly and stable development of autonomous vehicle technology innovation and road traffic activities. The Regulations have established an inclusive and prudent regulatory concept, built a regulatory mechanism that takes safety as the guarantee and orderly promotes industrial development step by step, to ensure that autonomous vehicle minimize potential risks while technological innovation and pilot applications. Establish and further improve the cross departmental coordination and standardized management system The Regulations provide a clear legal framework for technological innovation, testing, operation and promotion of autonomous vehicle through a clear division of management responsibilities and systematic process design. According to Article 4 of the Regulations, the Beijing Municipal Government and relevant departments shall establish a joint working mechanism, clarify the responsibilities of each department, and strengthen cross departmental cooperation. The establishment of this mechanism aims to avoid functional overlap or management gaps, ensure the effective implementation of various regulatory measures, and promote the integration and coordinated operation of policy resources. By strengthening top-level design and organizational leadership, Beijing can lay a solid policy foundation for the innovation and application of autonomous driving technology, and promote the long-term development of technology. In addition, Chapter 4 of the Regulations proposes a complete institutional design for road traffic management, which runs through the entire process of management from technical verification, scenario application to actual operation, reflecting the regulatory concept of inclusiveness, prudence, and standardized management. This chapter clearly stipulates the progressive path of autonomous vehicle from road test to demonstration application and then to pilot application, ensuring the safety and controllability of technology application. Articles 23 to 27 of the Regulations specify the phased approval process for innovative application scenarios and testing and application activities of autonomous vehicle, ensuring the scientific advancement of autonomous driving technology in different application scenarios. Especially in Article 24, the Regulation requires enterprises to strictly follow the procedures of application, demonstration, and regional confirmation when applying for road testing activities, and obtain temporary driving license plates in accordance with the law with the approval of the traffic management department of the public security organs. Through this layer by layer approval and strict supervision, the Regulation effectively avoids the risk of reckless introduction of autonomous driving technology to the market when the technology is not yet mature, ensures the gradual verification and standardized development of the technology, provides multi-dimensional legal guarantees for the practical application of autonomous driving technology, and ensures that enterprises always comply with safety regulations and assume corresponding responsibilities in the process of promoting technology commercialization. The Regulations on multi-dimensional security enhancement clearly defines the safety function requirements of autonomous vehicle. Article 35 stipulates that autonomous vehicle manufacturers must have the following capabilities: functional security, expected functional security, network security, data security, software upgrade management, and risk and emergency management. Enterprises also need to strengthen product testing and safety assessments, establish user notification mechanisms, and take primary responsibility for product quality and production consistency. In terms of operation safety, Article 36 emphasizes that road application pilot subjects need to fulfill the main responsibility of safe production according to law, establish and improve the operation safety management system, equip the autonomous vehicle operation safety monitoring platform, realize real-time dynamic monitoring of vehicles, personnel, networks and other operations, and strengthen the daily maintenance and detection of operating vehicles to ensure the compliance of vehicle safety and operation safety management requirements. In terms of network security and data security, Article 38 requires relevant enterprises to strictly comply with the network security level protection system, establish and improve network security risk control mechanisms, and develop emergency plans to respond to potential network attacks. Article 39 specifies that enterprises should establish a sound data security management system and fulfill their data security protection obligations, including: collecting data related to vehicle driving and traffic safety, evaluating data security risks, implementing classified and graded protection of data, complying with personal information protection laws and regulations, conducting risk assessments on important data and submitting evaluation reports to the municipal network information department and other relevant departments, and providing access to vehicle operation data for vehicle owners and managers. Article 42 of the Regulations also emphasizes the importance of insurance services in the field of autonomous vehicle. This clause requires all entities conducting road testing, demonstration applications, and road application pilot activities to purchase compulsory motor vehicle traffic accident liability insurance, carrier liability insurance, and other supplementary commercial insurance in accordance with relevant national and municipal regulations to ensure sufficient economic security in the event of an accident. In addition, the Regulations encourage insurance institutions to independently develop or cooperate with related enterprises to develop insurance products that adapt to the characteristics of autonomous vehicle according to the uniqueness of autonomous vehicle, so as to provide comprehensive insurance services for autonomous vehicle related enterprises and consumers. This regulation not only provides additional risk protection for the operation of autonomous vehicle, but also promotes the innovation and development of the insurance industry and meets the needs of emerging technology fields. In terms of emergency response, Article 40 requires the municipal economic and information, public security, transportation, network information, government affairs and data, emergency and other departments to strengthen the response to risks and emergencies of autonomous vehicle, formulate and improve emergency plans, guide and supervise the risk and emergency response activities of relevant enterprises, and ensure that measures can be taken quickly and effectively in case of emergencies. Finally, Article 41 regulates the application of autonomous vehicle in surveying and mapping activities, requires that only those who have obtained corresponding surveying and mapping qualifications or entrusted qualified units can carry out surveying and mapping activities according to law, guarantees the security of geographic information data, and prevents unauthorized geographic information data acquisition, storage, transmission and processing activities. These regulations jointly build a safety guarantee system for autonomous vehicle, which aims to safeguard technology development and network data security, safeguard social public interests and citizens' rights and interests, and prevent possible social risks caused by autonomous driving technology. Standardization of traffic accident handling and emergency disposal The Regulations clearly stipulates the handling of autonomous vehicle traffic accidents, which reflects the importance of standardized management. Article 31 defines the handling method in case of a traffic accident involving autonomous vehicle: the traffic management department of the public security organ shall be responsible for the investigation and handling, and the parties involved in the accident shall take safety measures and report in time. For minor accidents where there is no dispute between the parties involved, it is allowed to negotiate and resolve them on their own. This not only improves the efficiency of accident handling, but also strengthens the tracking and determination of accident responsibility. At the same time, Article 32 emphasizes that autonomous vehicle enterprises need to actively cooperate with the traffic management department of the public security organ in the investigation, and submit the accident process information or accident analysis report as required to ensure the fairness and accuracy of the responsibility determination. Article 33 stipulates emergency measures for drivers or safety officers in case of emergencies, requiring them to take emergency measures such as manual takeover when the vehicle malfunctions or leaves the allowed passage area, in order to reduce the risk of accidents. The above regulations jointly establish a clear responsibility system, which can quickly determine responsibility and handle it properly after an accident occurs, thereby maintaining social fairness and legal order, and safeguarding public interests. The Regulations provide a solid institutional guarantee for the development of autonomous vehicle through careful standardized management and prudent legislative design. The Regulation not only promotes technological innovation and application, but also establishes a safety bottom line from multiple dimensions such as product safety, operational supervision, and network data protection. It also provides reference for legislation in the field of autonomous driving in other regions. With the implementation of the Regulations and the improvement of relevant supporting measures, autonomous vehicle will develop in an orderly and healthy manner within a safe and controllable legal and regulatory framework, and will become an important part of smart transportation and smart city construction, promoting the overall society to move towards a more efficient, safer and more intelligent transportation system. (Author Xu Junqi, Executive Director of ICMA Intelligent Mobility Research Institute) (New Press)