Skip to main content

House of Lords CAV report flags the right issues, says UK insurer

UK insurance company AXA UK has responded to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee’s report on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV), saying it will help influence the recent Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill (VTA) and demonstrates the important considerations that need to be taken on-board. According to David Williams, technical director at AXA UK, the report rightly flags data access and standardisation as an important element of the CAV world going forward. He says it is impo
March 16, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
UK insurance company AXA UK has responded to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee’s report on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV), saying it will help influence the recent Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill (VTA) and demonstrates the important considerations that need to be taken on-board.

According to David Williams, technical director at AXA UK, the report rightly flags data access and standardisation as an important element of the CAV world going forward. He says it is important to recognise that vehicles communicating with each other and their surroundings are going to generate data, a topic AXA is working on with its partners in the three-year Flourish CAV project that started in June 2016.

He goes on to say it is vital that all parties involved, including vehicle manufacturers and insurers, can agree on standardising and sharing key data and information and an international agreement would be the best way of achieving that.

“The Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill has made a good start by placing people’s protection at its heart and that must remain the guiding principle as we begin to consider the new and emerging risks/opportunities that CAVs present,” he concludes.

Related Content

  • Car parking and parked cars need not be a technological black hole
    March 19, 2015
    David Crawford mines the potential of joined-up parking. Drivers conventionally see parking as an isolated, often frustrating, action; but collectively their attempts to find a space impact hugely on traffic flows. But new analyses of parking events look set to deliver real benefits to motorists and cities alike. Initiatives getting under way around the world are highlighting the advantages of connecting up parking events and – eventually - parked cars. The hoped-for results include not only enhanced urban
  • Migrating to advanced traffic management systems
    March 14, 2012
    Rich pickings of reduced cost and greater value are up for grabs as highway authorities migrate to new traffic management systems – if they choose their paths wisely. Jon Masters reports. Experience gained and expertise developed over the past decade are informing good advice for transport agencies contemplating new or expanded traffic management systems. Technological projects aimed at reducing road congestion may be frequently unique and invariably complex, but a picture is emerging of sensible, prudent a
  • European ideal poses local problems for toll companies
    December 16, 2013
    Being the first organisation attempting to implement an interoperable system poses challenges and increases risk that must be managed to realise the benefits. The European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) legislation aims to avoid the problems experienced in the USA and provide road users with seamless travel across the EU but it can pose big problems for some toll operators. Take, for instance, the case of the Humber Bridge in the UK. Its case was highlighted at the recent ITS World Congress by Tim Gammons,
  • Charging trial tests smartphones for road user charging
    January 26, 2012
    A new project is under way in Minnesota, investigating whether smartphones are technically and publicly acceptable for use in road user charging. Jason Barnes reports. In Minnesota, trials have been launched to determine whether smartphones are technologically viable and acceptable to the public for distance based road user charging (RUC). The Midwestern US state has engaged with Battelle to explore RUC technology options in a project which falls under the auspices of the US Federal Connected Vehicle progra