Shahrim Tamrin said the Road Transport Act 1987 (RTA) was written on the assumption that a human being would always be behind the wheel. “The law does not recognise software as a driver. It does not define liability when an autonomous system fails. “It does not establish who bears responsibility when a vehicle operating autonomously injures or kills another road user,” he said in a statement. Autonomous driving is classified on a scale of Level 0, where the driver controls all functions, to Level 5, which represents full driverless capability in all conditions. Level 3 means the vehicle can handle most driving tasks and monitor its surroundings, but requires the driver to take over when the system requests it. Shahrim said the law had a “liability vacuum” in the gap between the technology’s capabilities and what the law is prepared to govern. He asked who would be liable to compensate a victim’s family in the event of a crash – the manufacturer, software developer, vehicle owner, or occupant. He also suggested that Malaysia require autonomous vehicle “black box” recording systems and study international standards such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Regulation No. 157. Regulation No. 157 establishes uniform provisions for the approval of vehicles equipped with automated lane keeping systems – a Level 3 highly automated driving system, applicable across 50 UNECE countries including England, Australia, and South Africa. Shahrim also urged the government to establish a multi-stakeholder working group involving government agencies, road safety experts, automotive engineers, insurers, legal practitioners, and consumer representatives. Sim said on May 11 that the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute would begin groundwork on the 2030 target, acknowledging however that the country was still at the early stages. He pointed to developments in the US as a sign of