Written Answer · 2026-05-07 · Parliament 15
Quantifiable Safety Metrics and AV Standards Governing AI Decision-Making Prior to Commercial Deployment on Public Roads
Mr Alex Yeo asked the Acting Minister for Transport whether LTA's two-stage Deployment Readiness Assessment contains specific, quantifiable safety metrics that autonomous vehicles (AVs) must meet, what those standards are, and whether Technical Reference 68 (TR 68) will be enhanced — or a formal set of AV standards governing AI decision-making protocols introduced — before the first commercial AVs are allowed on the roads. Mr Jeffrey Siow replied that the deployment readiness assessment framework sets out technical performance and public acceptance metrics that must be met before AVs may take passengers and eventually progress to driverless operations. These include clocking sufficient distance on the actual deployment route without safety-operator intervention, and the ability to handle various traffic scenarios within the authorised geo-fenced area. TR 68, which serves as guidelines for Singapore's AV industry, was last updated in 2021 and is currently under review; in the meantime, AV deployments continue under the existing authorisation regime. The answer gave no specific quantitative thresholds and made no commitment to formal AI decision-making standards before commercial deployment.
Key Points
- • Deployment readiness assessment covers technical performance and public acceptance metrics
- • AVs must clock sufficient intervention-free distance on the actual deployment route
- • Technical Reference 68 was last updated in 2021 and is under review
- • AV deployments continue under the existing authorisation regime meanwhile
The Government maintains that the current deployment readiness assessment framework and authorisation regime adequately safeguard AV safety, with TR 68 under review and no separate formal standard for AI decision-making planned for now.
Singapore's AV regulation is incremental: gating through case-by-case authorisation and performance metrics rather than pre-set hard standards for AI decision-making, with the TR 68 review signalling rule updates before commercialisation at a pace the regulator controls.
"Technical Reference 68, which serves as guidelines for the AV industry in Singapore, was last updated in 2021 and is currently being reviewed."
Participants (2)
- Mr Alex Yeo
- Mr Jeffrey Siow
Original Text (English)
SPRS Hansard · Fetched: 2026-06-09
38 Mr Alex Yeo asked the Acting Minister for Transport (a) whether LTA has specific, quantifiable safety metrics in the two-stage Deployment Readiness Assessment that Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) must meet; (b) if so, what are these standards; and (c) whether Technical Reference 68 will be further enhanced or a formal set of AV standards that governs artificial intelligence decision-making protocols will be introduced before the first commercial AVs are allowed on the roads.
Mr Jeffrey Siow : The deployment readiness assessment framework for autonomous vehicles (AVs) sets out technical performance and public acceptance metrics that must be met before the AVs are allowed to take passengers and eventually progress to driverless operations. These include clocking sufficient distance within the actual deployment route without the need for intervention by safety operators, and the ability to handle various traffic scenarios presented within the authorised geo-fenced area.
Technical Reference 68, which serves as guidelines for the AV industry in Singapore, was last updated in 2021 and is currently being reviewed. In the meantime, AV deployments will continue under the existing authorisation regime.