THE HAGUE, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Netherlands has approved U.S. electric carmaker Tesla's supervised self-driving system, making it the first European country to permit the technology on public roads.
"This driver assistance system has been extensively researched and tested for over a year and a half on our test track and on public roads," the Netherlands Vehicle Authority RDW said in a statement issued late Friday, adding that proper use of the system can make "a positive contribution to road safety."
The regulator stressed that vehicles equipped with a full self-driving (FSD) supervised system are not self-driving. The system is classified as a driver assistance feature, meaning the driver remains fully responsible and must maintain control at all times. "When the system detects that the driver is insufficiently alert, various signals are triggered, requiring the driver to demonstrate attentiveness," RDW noted.
While Tesla vehicles equipped with FSD have been permitted in the United States for some time, RDW noted that the systems are not directly comparable because vehicles in Europe run on different software versions with varying functionality.
The approval could pave the way for wider adoption across Europe. RDW said it will submit an application to the European Commission, after which European Union members will vote on whether to allow the system across the bloc.
Experts cautioned that the technology, while promising, may also introduce new risks. Marieke Martens, professor of automated vehicles and human interaction at Eindhoven University of Technology, told local media RTL News that traffic safety could shift as a result of such systems.
"Traffic safety could shift. Such a system can prevent human errors, but perhaps new errors will also arise, which humans will then still have to correct. In that case, it actually adds an extra task to driving," she said.
