Institute of Transportation, MOTC

In recent years, many countries have invested a lot of resources in research on autonomous vehicles technology based on various goals. Our government is also committed to promoting smart and innovative transportation services, hoping to solve traffic problems. As of June 2022, 10 experimental programs have been passed in Taiwan. However, compared with other countries that have approved AVs for testing or driving on general roads and high-speed roads, our country still lacks experiments on high-speed roads. But when the vehicle is driving at high speed, the stability of the vehicle is a tough test. And With the commercialization of AVs, it is difficult to avoid the need for driving on freeways. Therefore, in order to reduce the obstacles and negative impacts of promoting AVs on freeway in Taiwan, the purpose of this study is to explore the crucial factors for the approval of commercialized AVs on freeway in Taiwan, and to understand the priorities of various stakeholders.
After reviewing many relevant materials and literatures, this study divides the possible challenges faced by the AVs into four criteria, and find out the alternatives as strategies to promote the development in all critetia. Then, through the questionnaire survey and AHP analysis, it is concluded that experts believe that whether it is to approve “Level 3 and 4” or “Level 5” AVs to drive on freeway, the most important thing is “ensuring the safety of AV technology”, and the others in order are “implementation of digital infrastructure”, “enhancing the information security resilience of V2X” and “increasing public acceptance”. However, the weights of the comprehensive criteria in each planning phase and the matters that experts in each field value are not the same. Therefore, the final result of this study is expected to serve as a strategic reference for the government to promote the development of AVS on freeway in the future, as well as the trend of technology research and development in the industry during the test period.