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

  • Connected vehicle technology the solution to safety?
    January 25, 2012
    A series of 'driver clinics' is under way across five states, as vehicle manufacturers and the US Government pin their hopes on connected vehicles becoming the next big advance in road safety. Pete Goldin reports. What would a car say if it could talk? Its first words might be: "Here I am". Many vehicles are communicating that very message to each other right now. Admittedly, this is in controlled environments of US Department of Transportation (USDoT) tests, but within the next few years 'connected vehicle
    Read More
  • Road safety systems on show at ITS World Congress
    January 30, 2012
    A vast array of new products and systems for aiding road safety were displayed at the ITS World Congress in October. David Crawford assesses a selection of safety initiatives exhibited in Orlando. Vital roles for ITS applications in road traffic safety emerge clearly from a new report from the US Transportation Safety Advancement Group. The report has been carried out for the Next Generation 911 What's Next Forum, which is preparing the way for future development of the US national 911 emergency single call
    Read More
  • Slow development of Europe's road user charging
    April 24, 2013
    Delegates convened in Brussels for Europe’s 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in March, when both positive and negative developments came to light for advocates of more widespread introduction of RUC. Jon Masters reports. Goings on across Europe in recent months have again demonstrated how very sensitive road user charging (RUC) is politically. At the 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in Brussels at the beginning of March, a Danish delegation was notable for its absence, but Belgian governme
    Read More
  • Truck platooning trials take to the highways
    July 24, 2017
    There is rising enthusiasm in America and beyond for the concept of truck platooning with trials being planned in several US states, as David Crawford reports. Growing numbers of US states are considering or implementing plans for trials of electronically-linked truck platooning on public road networks. This is in response to the interest being shown by the US$70bn a year road freight industry, where fuel represents 41% of the operating costs making the prospect of improving fuel economy by trucks travellin
    Read More

Highlighted Content