The parliamentary group of the Liberal Initiative (IL) recommended to the Government that it authorize autonomous driving tests in Portugal, following the example of countries such as France, Belgium, or Denmark. The liberals want the Executive, in coordination with the Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT), to promote authorization for testing Tesla Full Self-Driving technology, already approved by the RDW in the Netherlands, and recognition of other technologies authorized in other Member States of the European Union.
The IL also advocates that Portugal vote favorably in the Motor Vehicles Technical Committee (TCMV), scheduled for October 6, in favor of extending authorization for testing this technology throughout the EU. The liberal Members of Parliament consider that the European Union has wasted opportunities to implement significant advances in autonomous mobility, falling behind economies such as China and the United States.
Although it acknowledges that the Government has already taken significant steps by approving the legal framework for licensing automated driving system tests, the IL warns that the national legal and regulatory framework should not prevent or limit recognition of solutions already authorized in other Member States, at the risk of placing Portugal at a disadvantage compared to other European countries.
Regarding the vote in the TCMV, the Government of Luís Montenegro has not yet publicly expressed any position on the matter. The IL considers it essential that Portugal demonstrate a clear intention to join the group of countries supporting the generalization of autonomous driving tests in the European space.
