The government has commissioned a detailed review of driving laws
to ensure the UK remains one of the best places in
the world to develop, test and drive self-driving vehicles.
Roads Minister today (6 March 2018) announced
the start of a 3-year review by the Law Commission of England and
Wales and the Scottish Law Commission to examine any legal
obstacles to the widespread introduction of self-driving vehicles
and highlight the need for regulatory reforms.
The work will be crucial in examining how current driving laws –
designed with traditional motoring in mind – can support the next
generation of vehicles.
Key aspects will be adjusting traditional laws to reflect the
fact self-driving vehicles of the future will not have a ‘driver’
or perhaps even a ‘steering wheel’ like traditional cars and also
consider some of the criminal offences involved.
The review is part of the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge set
out in the government’s Industrial Strategy.
Roads Minister, said:
The UK is a world
leader for self-driving vehicle research and development, and
this work marks an important milestone in our continued
commitment to the technology.
With driving technology advancing at an unprecedented rate, it
is important that our laws and regulations keep pace so that
the UK can remain
one of the world leaders in this field.
The Law Commissions’ joint project will examine difficult areas
of law in order to develop a regulatory framework that is ready
for self-driving vehicles.
The project will review and answer key questions, such as:
- who is the ‘driver’ or responsible person, as appropriate
- how to allocate civil and criminal responsibility where there
is some shared control in a human-machine interface
- the role of automated vehicles within public transport
networks and emerging platforms for on-demand passenger
transport, car sharing and new business models providing mobility
as a service
- whether there is a need for new criminal offences to deal
with novel types of conduct and interference
- what is the impact on other road users and how they can be
protected from risk
Law Commissioner Nicholas Paines QC said:
British roads are already among the safest in the world and
automated vehicles have the potential to make them even safer.
Provided our laws are ready for them.
We’ll now start consulting widely on how the law should work
with this new technology and develop reforms which enable the
use of self-driving vehicles in the years to come.
Scottish Law Commissioner Caroline Drummond said:
Automated vehicles could have a big impact on the way we live
and work so it’s important that, UK-wide, we have a legal system which
can accommodate them.
announced the review during a
visit to the GATEway project in Greenwich. The project, which is
led by the UK’s TRL, has worked on a
number of innovative trials and demonstrations, including an
autonomous delivery pod with Ocado and an automated valet parking
trial.
Rob Wallis, CEO of TRL said:
We are seeing a global revolution in transport, transforming
how we will travel in the future. Connectivity,
electrification, automation and shared mobility are the 4 main
themes driving this innovation.
Regulation, safety standards and vehicle insurance models all
have a key part to play in enabling change, whilst giving
society confidence that these new products and services can be
introduced safely. The GATEway project, led
by TRL,
is providing vital scientific insight to help shape future
regulatory standards and to better understand public
perceptions associated with these new mobility solutions.
The GATEway project is now entering its final phase which will
see a fleet of automated pods providing a shuttle service around
the Greenwich Peninsula to understand public acceptance of, and
attitudes towards, self-driving vehicles.
