Regulation of Automated Vehicles under the Vehicles Act B.E. 2522 (1979)

Abstract

This research aimed to study (i) legal measures to be applied with self-driving cars; (ii) definition or interpretation of self-driving cars; (iii) an appropriate registration requirement for self-driving cars (iv) conditions to determine the qualifications of the driver for self-driving cars (v) suitable insurance for self-driving cars; and (vi) legal requirements and conditions for self-driving cars after the permission to use or test has been granted. This is qualitative research contributed by reviewing the laws, regulations, and regulatory framework on self-driving cars of the United Kingdom and Singapore to analyze the material elements in the legislation process of the law in another country. The study is to demonstrate and present problematic issues, solutions, improvements, or additional procurement to the law in Thailand. According to the study, it was identified that (i) there is no regulatory requirement currently applied to self-driving cars; (ii) there is no legal interpretation for a self-driving car under Thai law; (iii) self-driving cars cannot be registered for a daily-use in Thailand; (iv) the existing qualifications for driver do not apply for self-driving cars; and (v) self-driving cars cannot be insured under car insurance in Thailand.