Here’s again the SAE standard definition for ODD (we covered this earlier, but handy to repeat again here): “Operating conditions under which a given driving automation system or feature thereof is specifically designed to function, including, but not limited to, environmental, geographical, and time-of-day restrictions, and/or the requisite presence or absence of certain traffic or roadway characteristics.”

One could presumably craft an ODD for Level 4 that is as dangerous or perhaps more so dangerous than Level 5, though we would not expect anyone to do this. The assumption by some is that ODDs are going to be nicely and neatly devised into rather tight quarters that are assuredly safe boundaries, which is what most of today’s efforts are seeking to do. That doesn’t though stop someone from doing otherwise. One would hope that this isn’t a direction taken, but it is conceivable.

Now that we’ve covered the ongoing jawing about whether to ditch Level 5, you get to be the judge.
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