UK Government to review laws in preparation for self-driving vehicles

Jesse Norman, the UK government’s road minister, has announced a three-year regulatory review to examine any legal obstacles to the widespread introduction of self-driving vehicles and highlight the need for regulatory reforms. It aims to ensure that the country remains a primary location to develop, test and drive these vehicles. The inquiry will be carried out by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission. It is also part of the government’s Future of Mobility Grand Challe
March 12, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Jesse Norman, the UK government’s road minister, has announced a three-year regulatory review to examine any legal obstacles to the widespread introduction of self-driving vehicles and highlight the need for regulatory reforms. It aims to ensure that the country remains a primary location to develop, test and drive these vehicles.


The inquiry will be carried out by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission. It is also part of the government’s Future of Mobility Grand Challenge.

The project will review who the driver or responsible person as well as how to allocate civil and criminal responsibility where there is some shared control in a human-machine interface. In addition, it will explore 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. The scheme will also address whether there is a need for new criminal offences to deal with novel types of conduct and interference as well as the impact on other road users and how they can be protected from risk.

Norman 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."

Related Content

  • IRF Geneva leads UN road safety meeting
    October 5, 2022
    The International Road Federation (IRF) in Geneva convened key industry leaders to discuss “Action for Road Safety: Private Sector Leadership” on the occasion of the UN High Level Meeting on Global Road Safety hosted in New York
    Read More
  • Positive incentives an alternative to road user charging?
    February 1, 2012
    The Netherlands has been looking at incentivising rush-hour avoidance. The intention is to better understand road users' motivations and find alternatives to congestion charging. Something significant needs to happen if we are to adequately address the traffic congestion and other issues caused by the ever-rising numbers of vehicles on our roads. Congestion or distance-based charging is seen as one way of managing demand and raising revenue for improvements to transport infrastructure. However, charging is
    Read More
  • A revisited framework for ITS in Europe
    November 9, 2023
    Following the newly-adopted European Directive on ITS, Joost Vantomme of Ertico – ITS Europe, shares his insights on the legislation and its opportunities for the entire industry
    Read More
  • Simplifying enforcement systems type approval
    August 1, 2012
    Martyn Harriss looks at what we can do to simplify the type approval of enforcement equipment in Europe. I doubt that there are many who can remember the days when policemen hid in the bushes with stopwatches and flags to catch speeding motorists - and I'd suggest that back then there were few who were caught who would have dared question the accuracy of those watches or those who operated them. Probably, fewer still here in Europe could have dreamt that a supranational body such as the European Union (EU)
    Read More

Highlighted Content