Research Report
Study on the improvement of the Road Traffic Legal System for future mobility environment
I. Background and Purpose of Research
▶ In order to cope with the changed road traffic environment due to the development of technology, active legal and institutional countermeasures should be taken by comprehensively reviewing the changed traffic environment and legislation
○The emergence of new technologies will change the structure of the transportation industry, such as establishing traffic policies using digital operation recorders and improving road infrastructure for autonomous driving
○In addition, new types of transportation that are different from traditional transportation such as personal mobile devices will be introduced
○In order to preemptively respond to the emergence of new types of transportation such as self-driving cars and personal mobile devices and related changes in the traffic environment, it is necessary to come up with measures to improve the Kyoto road industry
○In particular, this study focused on self-driving cars and personal mobile devices, which are new means of transportation amid changes in the future traffic environment, and sought countermeasures through commercialization and activation of them
▶ Therefore, in order to effectively respond to the new means of transportation, this study seeks improvement measures by comprehensively analyzing laws and regulations related to road traffic legislation
○To this end, this study comprehensively reviewed domestic road traffic legislation and related policies, and legal and policy efforts to cope with future mobility in major foreign countries
○It also conducted an awareness survey on future mobility and compiled experts’ opinions on changes in the road traffic environment. Through this, we will explore issues regarding the improvement of road traffic legislation
○Afterwards, we will make efforts to contribute to the safe use of transportation and the development of related industries by actively responding to the changing future mobility environment by proposing ways to improve road traffic laws suitable for Korea
II. Main Research Contents and Methods
▶ First of all, by reviewing the overall laws and regulations related to road traffic in Korea, we looked at how the current laws and regulations define various aspects related to traffic
○Mobility is a means for humans to move, and although the right to human movement is not explicitly stipulated in laws, it can be seen that the mobility rights should be guaranteed at the national level in that humans have the right to pursue happiness (Article 10 of the Constitution) and live human life (Article 34(1))
○Therefore, the government is making efforts to enact “Mobility Innovation Act,” “Act on Promotion and Support of Commercialization of Self-Driving Vehicles” and “Act on Efficiency of National Integrated Transportation System” to cope with the changing future mobility environment
○In addition, the Road Traffic Act stipulates necessary matters to prevent all traffic hazards that occur on roads, such as pedestrian traffic methods, drivers and employers, and traffic safety education stipulate matters concerning transportation infrastructure
○In addition, the “Traffic Safety Act,” “Automobile Management Act,” “Special Act on the Handling of Traffic Accidents,” and “Automobile Damage Compensation Guarantee Act” stipulate matters related to compensation for traffic accidents and investigation of causes. Legal efforts are being made to accommodate the future mobility environment by establishing new provisions within each law and regulations regarding changed means of transportation
▶ Next, we examined legislation on self-driving cars and personal mobile devices in developed countries abroad to see if there are any areas that can be accepted when improving laws in Korea
○In this study, the definition of self-driving cars, safety facilities for driving, and driver’s obligations were investigated in Germany. First, Germany introduced a “strategy for automatic and connected driving” in 2015. However, it is actively responding to the development of self-driving technology that is subdivided and advanced through continuous revision of the Road Traffic Act. On the other hand, matters concerning personal mobile devices in Germany can be found in the “Regulations for Road Traffic Participation of Ultra-Small Electric Vehicles” that have been in effect since 2019
○Above all, Germany’s Road Traffic Act stipulates details such as devices that self-driving cars should have, the role of technical supervisors, and solutions to dilemmas in accident situations
○Next, in Japan, government ministries and agencies continued to make efforts on autonomous driving policies, such as periodically announcing a roadmap for public-private ITS initiatives. In addition, since 2021, research has been conducted to realize subdivided autonomous driving technology, such as promoting the “RoAD to the L4 Project.”
○Japan, like Germany, has also made efforts to cope with changes in the introduction of new technologies such as self-driving cars by revising related laws (“road traffic law” and “road transport vehicle law”). Systematic improvements are being made to create a safe road traffic environment by developing regulations concerning personal mobile devices
○Finally, in the U.S., road and vehicle laws are divided into federal and state jurisdictions, but the federal government has jurisdiction over road infrastructure and automobile safety standards, while the state governments have jurisdiction over road traffic and car registration
○The U.S. law on self-driving cars began at the state level in 2011, and the federal government is currently making efforts to establish policies to deal with safety and infrastructure-related issues of self-driving technology
○For example, in 2016, the federal government announced the “Federal Automated Vehicles Policy” as a guide to presenting self-driving car policies and legislative directions, and continues to supplement it in the direction of self-driving technology development. In particular, the federal government is actively working to establish safety standards by issuing an executive order for manufacturers and technology developers to submit reports in the event of self-driving car accidents in 2021 or revising the titles of federal vehicle safety standards in 2022
○On the other hand, U.S. personal mobile devices can be identified by the definition of electric scooters in the Federal Consumer Act and California's provisions dealing with electric kickboards
▶ Meanwhile, this study conducted an awareness survey of transportation experts to find out what should be focused on to improve the legal system. Specifically, we identified the current status of major issues related to the use of self-driving cars and personal mobile devices
○In addition to the pros and cons of the introduction and use of self-driving cars and personal mobile devices, the survey will answer questions about future mobility (need for traffic safety education, contribution to traffic safety, legislation necessary to respond to future mobility)
○As a result of the analysis, a majority of all respondents agreed to introduce self-driving cars and maintain the current method of using personal mobile devices. In addition, they answered that such traffic changes need to expand traffic safety education and strengthen punishment for violations of the law
○In particular, they said that the introduction of self-driving cars requires the establishment of “contents on driver status, major obligations, etc.” “contents on investigation and responsibility in the event of an accident.”
○Next, they answered that for the safe use of personal mobile devices, “new dedicated license system”, “strengthening safety education”, and “strengthening responsibility for accidents of operators and drivers” are necessary.
○In this way, they mentioned the need for an appropriate legal system for changed means of transportation, and especially in the case of self-driving cars, they answered that a system divided by level should be prepared to actively respond to changes
▶ Finally, the limitations of the current Road Traffic Act were identified by synthesizing the above discussions, and legal improvement measures were prepared to supplement them
○Specifically, the revision of the Road Traffic Act and the enactment of the Self-Driving Act were “revised in terms of operation management for each mobility type safety,” “revised in ways to strengthen traffic safety education,” and “new qualification standards such as understanding and proficiency.”
○Next, it is proposed to enact a new law called the “Self-Driving Act.” It includes reestablishment of status, introduction of self-driving car recognition traffic safety facilities, introduction of self-driving system operation traffic safety education system, easing sanctions on drivers above Level4, and reviewing responsibility for compensation for self-driving cars above
○On the other hand, it also proposes a system that should be introduced in detail in terms of establishing integrated mobility information and thinking services related to personal mobile devices, and introducing mobility certification systems
III. Expected Effects
▶ Based on the discussion in this study, the direction of legislation improvement for future mobility environments can contribute positively in the short term to “propose legislation improvement measures for safe future mobility operation” and in the long term
▶ Furthermore, the results of this study are judged to contribute academically and politically
○Specifically, domestic and foreign road traffic-related laws and traffic expert recognition surveys that were comprehensively examined in this study can be used as basic data for future academic research on road traffic-related legislation
○In terms of policy, discussions on various institutional aspects as well as the revised “Road Traffic Act” and “Automatic Driving Act” proposed by this study will contribute to the promotion of related systems and legislation in the future