BIEK Welcomes the New Law on Autonomous Driving

The Federal Association of Parcel and Express Logistics (BIEK) welcomes the new law on autonomous driving, which came into effect last week. In the future, autonomously driving delivery vehicles could play an important role in parcel delivery. One scenario: They can support delivery personnel on their routes by autonomously navigating predefined loading zones.

(Berlin) “The law is a good starting point to test the forward-looking technology of autonomous driving under real traffic conditions for the first time,” explains Marten Bosselmann, Chairman of BIEK. “We also very much welcome that the application cases covered by the law explicitly mention not only private and public passenger transport but also logistics and freight transport.”

Reducing Delivery Personnel’s Walking Distances

In the future, autonomously driving delivery vehicles could play an important role in parcel delivery. One scenario: They can support delivery personnel on their routes by autonomously navigating predefined loading zones. This reduces the walking distances for delivery personnel and eliminates the search for parking spaces. By strategically deploying autonomous delivery vehicles, the delivery process can become even more efficient in the future – allowing human labor to focus more on the actual parcel delivery.

“However, when we talk about a future with autonomous vehicles, it is essential that, in addition to legal regulations on data protection and liability, a suitable digital infrastructure is also in place. In the medium to long term, the use of autonomous or at least semi-autonomous vehicles in parcel delivery is quite conceivable – provided that mobile broadband internet is widely available and secure,” says Marten Bosselmann.

Photo: © BIEK/Adobe Stock