Map › Decision tree
From an intended activity to the approval, operational and liability rules that govern it. Position as of 2026-08-27.
I want to place an automated or fully automated vehicle on a public road. What is the intended activity?
Route testing
R&D and trial operation, not normal commercial deployment
A lawful trial and reusable safety evidence.
Route approval
Technical admissibility of the vehicle and the system
A technically approved vehicle or automated driving system.
Route deployment
Legal permission to operate, not technical admissibility
Lawful deployment or a commercial service, with lifecycle oversight.
Eight decisions
Each answer names the legal layer it puts in play and the source records that carry it. The questions are read in order; nothing is stored and nothing leaves the page.
Layers your answers put in play
D1 Testing or deployment?
If yes Use the national testing route.
If no Proceed to approval and deployment.
D2 Is EU type approval needed and available?
If yes Build or verify the EU and UNECE approval stack.
If no Remain in the trial or exemption route.
D3 Is there an AI-enabled safety component within the scope of product law?
If yes Apply the AI Act overlay and its amended timetable.
If no Sectoral vehicle rules still apply.
D4 Is normal road operation legally authorised?
If yes Move to operator and service requirements.
If no Type approval alone is insufficient.
D5 Is a commercial transport service intended?
If yes Check the service and operator authorisation.
If no Private and non-commercial road-use rules apply.
D6 Who carries lifecycle responsibility?
If yes Assign operator, remote and reporting duties.
If no Resolve the accountability gap before deployment.
D7 Is accident and defect risk covered?
If yes Product liability, motor insurance and national tort rules apply.
If no Deployment risk remains incomplete.
D8 Does an in-use change or an incident occur?
If yes Trigger monitoring, update, reporting and enforcement.
If no Continue routine lifecycle monitoring.
Type approval answers whether the vehicle or the automated driving system satisfies technical product requirements. Deployment law answers whether, where, by whom and under what operational conditions it may be used on public roads or as a transport service. Liability, insurance and in-use rules continue after deployment.
Slovakia: the decisive legal question is not only whether the vehicle is technically approved, but under which Slovak legal basis it may operate, who the accountable operator is, and for what service.
Provenance
ROAT Regulatory Map 2026 – Reconstructed Draft v0.7.1 (PraF UK), sheet "Decision Tree v0.7", cut-off 2026-08-27. Navigation layer. It points to the instruments and the source records that govern each step; it is not legal advice and it does not replace the coded modules.