UL Joins the World Economic Forum's Safe Drive Initiative

Source: UL announcement

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — UL, the global safety science leader, announced it is now a member of the World Economic Forum’s Safe Drive Initiative, a multi-stakeholder project created to improve the state of autonomous vehicle governance.

The mission of the Safe Drive Initiative is to enable safe autonomous vehicles (AVs) through collaboration on a new approach to safety – providing increased transparency on AV technology and a greater alignment on the definition of safety.

The effort brings together industry and regulators to identify specific challenges in AV policy and to co-create solutions, through toolkits, technical insights and thought leadership. UL’s contributions to the Safe Drive Initiative will include participation on technical panels and papers, helping navigate the complexity of autonomous vehicle safety.

Part of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Mobility Platform, the Safe Drive Initiative has created a proposed framework for AV governance centered around a scenario-based safety assurance program. Following the publication of this framework, the World Economic Forum is considering creating further guidance for policymakers on facets of AV safety such as teleoperations, minimum risk maneuvers and cyber resiliency. Accomplishments to date include:

•           Proposal of a performance-based approach to AV safety policy
•           Improved safety of AV/mobility as a service testing and operations
•           Initiation of a cross-industry dialogue around safety to increase public trust
•           Creation of a global framework for sharing critical safety data for AVs

“As autonomous technology spans software, electrical and traditional mechanical systems, manufacturers must consider a host of existing standards and emerging industry best practices to address safety at all levels of automation. This is even more important as we move to higher levels of autonomy,” said Mary Joyce, vice president and general manager of UL’s New Mobility group. “We are proud to partner with the World Economic Forum’s Safe Drive Initiative and lead the development of standards for autonomous vehicles that regulators around the globe can use.”

To view the entire announcement, click HERE.