Insurance proposals introduce AV crash liabilities on UK authorities

Local authorities in the UK could be subjected to insurance companies recovering money paid to cover claims if an autonomous vehicle crash is deemed to have been caused by road markings that were incorrect or unreadable by the vehicle. That is the view of Ben Howarth, senior policy advisor according to the Association of British Insurers. Answering questions at a Policy-UK event about proposals for insurance changes to cover connected and autonomous vehicles, Howarth said the ABI expected AVs to be used i
April 28, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Local authorities in the UK could be subjected to insurance companies recovering money paid to cover claims if an autonomous vehicle crash is deemed to have been caused by road markings that were incorrect or unreadable by the vehicle. That is the view of  Ben Howarth,  senior policy advisor according to the Association of British Insurers.

Answering questions at a Policy-UK event about proposals for insurance changes to cover connected and autonomous vehicles, Howarth said the ABI expected AVs to be used in defined areas and that the councils would have a view on which roads were suitable. If a road was approved for use by AVs and an accident occurred in which some road defect – such as an obscured or worn out white line – was deemed to have contributed, then under the proposals the insurance company would be entitled to recover the payments from the council.

He added that he was unsure what would actually happen in practice. Asked why councils would approve roads for use by AVs if it left them exposed to such liabilities, Howarth replied: “That’s a question for the local authorities.”

Related Content

  • ITS homes in on cycling safety
    April 9, 2014
    A new generation of ITS equipment is helping road authorities get to grips with cycle safety – and not a moment too soon as Colin Sowman discovers. Cyclists - remember them? Apparently not. At least not according to the OECD 2013 report Cycling, Health and Safety which contains the statement: ‘Cyclists are often forgotten in the design of the road traffic system’. Looking through the statistics that exist (each country appears to compile them differently) it is not difficult to see how such a conclusion cou
    Read More
  • The case for tolling the Interstates
    April 20, 2012
    Speaking at an event organised by the IBTTA last week to an audience of federal and state transportation officials, policy experts, financial analysts, and representatives from engineering firms, technology companies, and transportation facility operators, Ed Regan of Wilbur Smith Associates articulated a clear case for giving states flexibility to toll existing interstate highways.
    Read More
  • Olympic challenges in Sochi
    May 27, 2014
    Sporting events always create problems for traffic planners and none more so than the Winter Olympics. It is difficult to think of more diametrically opposite challenges for transport planners than the 2012 Olympics in London and this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi: from a summer event in the heart of a megacity with well established transport infrastructure to winter games with unpredictable weather and events in remote and mountainous locations. The Winter Games are always a challenge and Sochi was no di
    Read More
  • ITS can only progress at the speed of public acceptance
    May 24, 2013
    The ITS sector is one of the younger and more dynamic industries in the economy and I am lucky enough to take the helm of ITS International at a point where the industry is in one of its most interesting phases. The technology is both established enough to show proven results and yet young enough to not fully know what the end game will be. It does not have the uniformity usually seen in older industries, while at the same time the bene ts are there – even if they are not always immediately evident to poli
    Read More

Highlighted Content