J3016™ JUN2018

SURFACE VEHICLE
RECOMMENDED PRACTICE Issued 2014-01
Revised 2018-06

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Superseding J3016 SEP2016

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(R) Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation
Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles

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RATIONALE

This revision of Recommended Practice J3016 adds several new terms and definitions, corrects a few errors, and adds

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further clarification (especially in Section 8) to address frequently misunderstood concepts. As in the previous version, it
provides a taxonomy describing the full range of levels of driving automation in on-road motor vehicles and includes
functional definitions for advanced levels of driving automation and related terms and definitions. This Recommended
Practice does not provide specifications, or otherwise impose requirements on, driving automation systems (for further

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elaboration, see 8.1). Standardizing levels of driving automation and supporting terms serves several purposes, including:

1. Clarifying the role of the (human) driver, if any, during driving automation system engagement.

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2. Answering questions of scope when it comes to developing laws, policies, regulations, and standards.

3. Providing a useful framework for driving automation specifications and technical requirements.

4. Providing clarity and stability in communications on the topic of driving automation, as well as a useful short-hand that
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saves considerable time and effort.

This document has been developed according to the following guiding principles, namely, it should:
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1. Be descriptive and informative rather than normative.

2. Provide functional definitions.

3. Be consistent with current industry practice.

4. Be consistent with prior art to the extent practicable.

5. Be useful across disciplines, including engineering, law, media, public discourse.

6. Be clear and cogent and, as such, it should avoid or define ambiguous terms.
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SAE INTERNATIONAL J3016™ JUN2018 Page 2 of 35

The document contains updates that reflect lessons learned from various stakeholder discussions, as well as from research
projects conducted in Europe and the United States by the AdaptIVe Project and by the Crash Avoidance Metrics
Partnership (CAMP) Automated Vehicle Research (AVR) Consortium, respectively.

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Italicized terms used in this Recommended Practice are also defined herein. Bracketed text within a term name indicates
optional inclusion when using term (i.e., braketed text may be unncessary, given the usage context).

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1. SCOPE

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This S A E Recommended Practice describes motor vehicle driving automation systems that perform part or all of the
dynamic driving task (DDT) on a sustained basis. It provides a taxonomy with detailed definitions for six levels of driving
automation, ranging from no driving automation (level 0) to full driving automation (level 5), in the context of motor vehicles
(hereafter also referred to as “vehicle” or “vehicles”) and their operation on roadways. These level definitions, along with
additional supporting terms and definitions provided herein, can be used to describe the full range of driving automation

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features equipped on motor vehicles in a functionally consistent and coherent manner. “On-road” refers to publicly
accessible roadways (including parking areas and private campuses that permit public access) that collectively serve
users of vehicles of all classes and driving automation levels (including no driving automation), as well as motorcyclists,
pedal cyclists, and pedestrians.

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The levels apply to the driving automation feature(s) that are engaged in any given instance of on-road operation of an
equipped vehicle. As such, although a given vehicle may be equipped with a driving automation system that is capable
of delivering multiple driving automation features that perform at different levels, the level of driving automation exhibited

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in any given instance is determined by the feature(s) that are engaged.

This document also refers to three primary actors in driving: the (human) user, the driving automation system, and other
vehicle systems and components. These other vehicle systems and components (or the vehicle in general terms) do not
include the driving automation system in this model, even though as a practical matter a driving automation system may
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actually share hardware and software components with other vehicle systems, such as a processing module(s) or operating
code.
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The levels of driving automation are defined by reference to the specific role played by each of the three primary actors in
performance of the DDT and/or DDT fallback. “Role” in this context refers to the expected role of a given primary actor,
based on the design of the driving automation system in question and not necessarily to the actual performance of a given
primary actor. For example, a driver who fails to monitor the roadway during engagement of a level 1 adaptive cruise control
(ACC) system still has the role of driver, even while s/he is neglecting it.
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Active safety systems, such as electronic stability control and automated emergency braking, and certain types of driver
assistance systems, such as lane keeping assistance, are excluded from the scope of this driving automation taxonomy
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because they do not perform part or all of the DDT on a sustained basis and, rather, merely provide momentary intervention
during potentially hazardous situations. Due to the momentary nature of the actions of active safety systems, their
intervention does not change or eliminate the role of the driver in performing part or all of the DDT, and thus are not
considered to be driving automation.
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It should, however, be noted that crash avoidance features, including intervention-type active safety systems, may be
included in vehicles equipped with driving automation systems at any level. For Automated Driving System (ADS) features
(i.e., levels 3-5) that perform the complete DDT, crash avoidance capability is part of ADS functionality.
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SAE INTERNATIONAL J3016™ JUN2018 Page 3 of 35

2. REFERENCES

The following publications form a part of this specification to the extent specified herein. Unless otherwise indicated, the
latest issue of SAE publications shall apply.

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2.1 Applicable Documents

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ANSI D16.1-2007 Manual on Classification of Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents

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SAE J670 Vehicle Dynamics Terminology (J670:JAN2008)

SAE J3063 Active Safety Systems Terms & Definitions (J3063:NOV2015)

49 U.S.C. § 30102(a)(6) (definition of motor vehicle)

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Gasser, Tom et al., “Legal consequences of an increase in vehicle automation”, July 23, 2013, available at
http://bast.opus.hbz-nrw.de/volltexte/2013/723/pdf/Legal_consequences_of_an_increase_in_vehicle_automation.pdf.

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Michon, J.A., 1985. A CRITICAL VIEW OF DRIVER BEHAVIOR MODELS: WHAT DO WE KNOW, WHAT SHOULD WE
DO? In L. Evans & R. C. Schwing (Eds.). Human behavior and traffic safety (pp. 485-520). New York: Plenum Press,
1985.

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Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership – Automated Vehicle Research Consortium, “Automated Vehicle Research for
Enhanced Safety – Final Report,” available at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=NHTSA-2014-0070-0003.

Smith, Bryant Walker. Engineers and Lawyers Should Speak the Same Robot Language, in ROBOT LAW (2015), available
at https://newlypossible.org.
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3. DEFINITIONS
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3.1 ACTIVE SAFETY SYSTEM (SAE J3063:NOV2015)

Active safety systems are vehicle systems that sense and monitor conditions inside and outside the vehicle for the purpose
of identifying perceived present and potential dangers to the vehicle, occupants, and/or other road users, and automatically
intervene to help avoid or mitigate potential collisions via various methods, including alerts to the driver, vehicle system
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adjustments, and/or active control of the vehicle subsystems (brakes, throttle, suspension, etc.).
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NOTE: For purposes of this report, systems that meet the definition of active safety systems are considered to
have a design purpose that is primarily focused on improving safety rather than comfort, convenience or
general driver assistance. Active safety systems warn or intervene during a high-risk event or maneuver.

3.2 AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEM (ADS)

The hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire DDT on a sustained basis, regardless of
whether it is limited to a specific operational design domain (ODD); this term is used specifically to describe a level 3, 4, or
5 driving automation system.
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NOTE: In contrast to ADS, the generic term “driving automation system” (see 3.8) refers to any level 1-5 system or
feature that performs part or all of the DDT on a sustained basis. Given the similarity between the generic
term, “driving automation system,” and the level 3-5-specific term, “Automated Driving System,” the latter
term should be capitalized when spelled out and reduced to its acronym, ADS, as much as possible, while
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the former term should not be.