Belgium has approved Tesla’s autonomous assisted driving system

Belgium has given the green light to the Full Self-Driving (FSD) assisted driving system from Tesla, paving the way for the technology to be marketed in the country. This was announced by the Flemish Minister for Transport, Annick De Ridder, following the successful outcome of tests conducted by Elon Musk’s company. The authorisation granted in Flanders is valid throughout Belgium and will allow Tesla to roll out its advanced driver-assistance system, which still requires driver supervision. Belgium becomes the fifth EU country to authorise the technology after the Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia and Denmark.

The Flemish authorities’ approval is based on the preliminary type-approval already issued by the Dutch authority RDW. In the letter announcing the signing of the authorisation, De Ridder highlights the system’s “significant technological potential”, citing experts’ assessments that the software is capable of analysing complex traffic situations and reacting in a “defensive, cautious and anticipatory” manner, taking into account pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. The Full self-driving also features mechanisms that constantly monitor the driver’s attention and alert them when their level of engagement drops. When used as intended – with a driver always ready to intervene – the system, the document continues, “has the potential to contribute to improved road safety”, demonstrating in some circumstances the ability to react “more quickly and more consistently than human drivers”.

Whilst acknowledging the need for further testing of the interaction between the driver and the software and its “adaptation to the Belgian road environment”, the minister believes that the potential demonstrated by the technology and the positive test results constitute “sufficient grounds” to accept the provisional European type-approval of Tesla system. De Ridder calls, however, for the dialogue with the company and the Dutch authorities to continue, with particular attention to user communication, the gradual introduction of the technology, its further adaptation to Belgian roads and the “continuous monitoring of the effects on road safety”. The European Commission and the Belgian federal authorities will also be formally informed of the decision.