Dubai law promotes autonomous vehicle use on public roads

The law is aimed at supporting Dubai’s wider objectives of encouraging the switch to smart mobility through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), and at attracting investment in activities related to autonomous vehicles.

It also seeks to ensure the use of autonomous vehicles is regulated in accordance with safety and quality requirements that reflect best international standards and practices.

The new law, Law No. 9 of 2023 Regulating the Operation of Autonomous Vehicles in the Emirate of Dubai, provides for a new licensing regime for the use of autonomous vehicles, lays out stipulations around their use – including that they benefit from insurance – and addresses the question of who is liable for damages caused by autonomous vehicles.

Under the new legal framework, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has wide-ranging powers and duties.

For example, the RTA is entrusted with developing policies and strategic plans to make it easier to operate and develop autonomous vehicles in Dubai and for ensuring Dubai’s infrastructure is equipped to support the use of such vehicles in the emirate.

The RTA is also responsible for approving new operational, safety and security standards that autonomous vehicles would have to accord with, and for designating the specific roads on which autonomous vehicles can be used and at which speed they are permitted to go. The RTA is further responsible for overseeing the new licensing regime – autonomous vehicles would not be able to be used in Dubai without the RTA’s approval. Licensing conditions are outlined in the new legislation.

Other obligations on the RTA include collecting and classifying the data generated by the use of autonomous vehicles in Dubai and performing technical inspections of vehicles to make sure they are being operated in accordance with the licence conditions.

“Whilst the powers of the RTA are comprehensive and the body will play an important role as a supervisory authority, this should not be misunderstood as Dubai making it difficult to operate autonomous vehicles,” said Stephan Appt, who specialises in advising clients in the automotive sector for Pinsent Masons. “To the contrary, the emirate has already proven to be eager and quite successful in attracting operators of autonomous vehicle fleets, such as robo-taxis.”

“This makes Dubai an attractive test bed for autonomous vehicle technology providers with much less red tape than what we see in Europe,” he said.

Under the legislation, the ‘operator’ of an autonomous vehicle – a broad term that includes the owner of the vehicle as well as others authorised to undertake activities related to their use – would be liable for compensation for damages to persons or property caused by the vehicle. However, the operators would be able to pursue “recourse against the real culprit of such damages in accordance with the general rules of liability”.