The United Nations has highlighted progress towards harmonised international regulations for automated driving systems (ADS) during a series of high-level meetings on road safety and intelligent mobility in China.
The engagements included the 2026 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference (WICV) in Beijing, where officials stressed the need to ensure that advances in vehicle automation are supported by robust safety standards and international cooperation.
The event comes in a milestone year for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), with the adoption of an international regulatory framework for automated driving systems.
Speaking at the conference’s opening ceremony on 21 October, UNECE deputy executive secretary Dmitry Mariyasin said China had played a central role in developing the framework and reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to working with international partners.
UN secretary-general’s special envoy for road safety Jean Todt also addressed delegates, emphasising that technological progress must go hand in hand with rigorous safety requirements.
The conference brought together regulators, vehicle authorities and standards organisations to discuss how the new framework can be implemented and how national approaches to automated driving can be aligned.
Richard Damm, chair of UNECE’s Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA), shared experience of developments in automated driving systems and their implementation.
Sessions also examined regulatory progress in Canada and Russia, alongside work by the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW) to assess an end-to-end artificial intelligence system for driving automation.
Representatives from SAE International, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) outlined their latest standards, highlighting the role of common technical requirements in supporting the development and deployment of automated vehicles.
Focus on implementation and vehicle connectivity
Alongside the main conference, China’s Intelligent Connected Vehicles Foreign Experts Advisory Group held discussions involving UNECE representatives and members of GRVA.
The meeting focused on implementing automated driving regulations, sharing best practice on software-defined vehicles and developing vehicle-to-infrastructure communications.
The discussions reflect the wider challenge facing regulators as increasingly sophisticated vehicle technologies move towards deployment: establishing consistent rules that support innovation while maintaining safety across different markets.
UNECE’s work in this area is expected to continue at the next GRVA meeting, scheduled for mid-January 2027. The meeting is expected to finalise a guidance and interpretation document for the automated driving regulation.
The week’s programme also included the launch, on 20 October, of the UN-JCDecaux Global Campaign for Road Safety by special envoy Jean Todt.
(Picture: UNECE; Yay Images)
