With the Road Traffic Remote Control Ordinance, which came into force on December 1, 2025, the German legislator created a legal framework for vehicles with remote-controlled driving functions for the first time. This means that the person driving the vehicle is no longer inside the vehicle, but controls it from a control center using radio connections. Special safety requirements arise in particular due to the latency of data transmission. This new technology is seen as a promising bridging technology for advancing fully automated driving in Germany and Europe. However, particularly with regard to this objective, it must be noted that the legislator has not succeeded in considering and regulating fully automated and remote-controlled driving functions together. The isolated approval rules mean that a lot of potential remains unused and important time is lost in order to keep pace with the advancing automation of road traffic worldwide.
In the ahoi project, IKEM is supporting the development of an on-demand service with autonomous and manually controlled vehicles for Hamburg’s public transport system.
