The Law Commission of England and Wales have today [24 June 2022]
published a paper asking for views on the need and options for
regulating remote driving on public roads.
Technology that enables an individual to drive a vehicle from a
remote location already exists today – operating in controlled
environments such as warehouses, farms and mines. The new paper
considers how the existing legal framework applies to remote
driving on roads shared with other road users.
The Commission paper focuses on remote driving where the driver
does not have full line of sight and may be in a remote
operations centre many miles from the vehicle.
Remote driving leads to many safety challenges, including:
- Connectivity: how can a reliable
connection between the remote driver and vehicle be ensured and
how can safety risks be mitigated if connectivity is lost?
- Situational awareness: how can
drivers remain aware of their surroundings through a screen
without (for example) the “feel” of acceleration?
- Keeping remote drivers alert: how
can the risk of fatigue, motion sickness and distraction be
overcome?
- Cybersecurity: how can unauthorised
takeover of vehicles be prevented?
The Law Commission highlights uncertainties and risks in the way
current legislation applies to remote driving. It seeks views on
new regulations in both the short and long term to address these
challenges.
One possibility is that vehicles on British roads could be
remotely driven from abroad. This has the potential to create
serious practical and legal difficulties in enforcement. The Law
Commission asks whether driving from abroad should be prohibited.
The Law Commission’s paper was informed by a review of domestic
legislation and how other countries regulate remote driving,
including Japan, Germany, Finland, the United States and
Australia. It also builds on work started in 2018 alongside the
Scottish Law Commission on a new legal framework to enable
self-driving vehicles. The Commissions’ joint report with
recommendations was published in January this year.
Views can be submitted to the Law Commission until 2 September
2022.
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Commenting on the new paper, Nicholas Paines QC, Public
Law Commissioner said:
“Remote driving technology is already capable of being used on
our roads. We hope our issues paper can contribute to a healthy
debate about the appropriate regulation of this technology and
what can be done to maximise protection of road users while
encouraging innovation.
“We look forward to hearing views on the challenges and possible
ways to solve them.”
Background on the project
The Law Commission was asked by the UK Government’s Centre for
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and Department for Transport to
review the legal status and reform options for remote driving.
The project builds on work the Law Commission has undertaken in
the field of automated vehicles since 2018. Its joint report with
the Scottish Law Commission published in January 2022 contains
recommendations for UK government to make changes to legislation
to enable the deployment of automated vehicles on British roads.
Next steps
The Law Commissions are seeking views on the issues paper until 2
September 2022. The Commission will use the feedback provided to
draft advice for UK Government on reform options for remote
driving by January 2023.
Embargoed summary document
An embargoed summary of the remote driving issues paper can be
found here.
The full paper will be published on the project page on Friday 24
June.
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Notes to Editors
The closing date to respond to the consultation is 2
September 2022.
More details can be found at https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/remote-driving/
