In the latter instance VW was effectively turning off much of the diesel emission control system while driving on the road. In Europe, the new World Light-duty Test Protocol (WLTP) was implemented in 2018 with the addition of a real driving emissions (RDE) component. Until now, emissions testing was a pretty straightforward process. Compared to the challenge of validating that an automated driving system is truly safe and robust, real world emissions are positively trivial. A Rand Corporation study estimated that it would take 11 billion miles of road testing to have sufficient confidence in the safety of AVs.

Source: Forbes April 20, 2019 13:30 UTC