Regulations regarding autonomous vehicles and their use in South Africa

Abstract

This study addresses the question to what extend automated vehicles and their use are regulated in South Africa. To answer this question the autonomous vehicle legislation of various countries was critically discussed as well as to what extend autonomous vehicles are regulated in South Africa. Several countries have passed laws to regulate autonomous vehicles and the manufacturing thereof, these countries include Germany and the United States of America (USA). The legislation of autonomous vehicles of Germany and the USA was critically discussed as these countries' legislation can be used to guide the legislation process of South African autonomous vehicles. This study shows that South Africa does not have legislation on autonomous vehicles, but it does recommend possible autonomous vehicle legislation for South Africa. It is clear that in order for South Africa to draft such legislation, the government should invest in and improve the country's infrastructure as well as ensure that vehicles will have access to data and that the infrastructure has access to the data. It is concluded that South Africa may not be ready for autonomous vehicle legislation and that the improvement of current infrastructure and the maintenance thereof may be necessary and expensive for the country. However, this should not stop South Africa to start the legislative process in this regard, as it may take a while for legislators to draft a bill.