Kazakhstan greenlights driverless vehicle tests in major cities

Kazakhstan has approved a three-year pilot programme to test autonomous vehicles in Astana, Almaty and Kosshy, marking the country's latest step towards introducing self-driving transport.

According to Kazakh media, citing the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development, the trials will be conducted both on dedicated test sites and on selected sections of public roads.

Under the approved rules, vehicles with conditional automation must have a person inside the vehicle who is able to take control at any time. Highly automated vehicles, meanwhile, will be permitted to operate without a driver on board, provided they are monitored remotely by an operator.

All autonomous vehicles participating in the pilot will be required to feature data recording and video surveillance systems, emergency shutdown mechanisms for the autonomous driving system, protection against external interference with their software, and clear "Autonomous Driving" markings.

The regulations also set out rules for the use of autonomous vehicles in taxi services and non-scheduled passenger transport, as well as procedures for dealing with road traffic accidents and insurance requirements.

"The implementation of the pilot project will make it possible to test autonomous transport technologies under real-world conditions, develop regulatory practice, assess the effectiveness of existing regulatory mechanisms and create a foundation for the further development of Kazakhstan's legislation in the field of autonomous transport," Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of AI and Digital Development, Gizzat Baitursynov, said.