Labour delays self-driving cars on Britain's roads by 12 months

Daily Mail​

21-05-2025

Self-driving cars will not be allowed on Britain's roads next year after Labour delayed the introduction of legislation for driverless vehicles.
While various autonomous vehicle trials have been taking place in the UK for several years, there remains a legal requirement for a safety driver to be sat at the wheel to take back control at any moment.
Under proposals laid out by the previous government, this was due to change in 2026 when laws were due to be put in place to grant unmanned vehicles access to our roads.
However, the Department for Transport has confirmed provisions for this have been pushed back to 'the second half of 2027' at the earliest - a year later than the Tory Government had promised.
'We are working quickly and will implement self-driving vehicle legislation in the second half of 2027,' a DfT statement issued to the BBC said.
'We are also exploring options for short-term trials and pilots to create the right conditions for a thriving self-driving sector.'
The Department for Transport has confirmed that legislation to allow self-driving cars onto Britain's roads has been pushed back to 'the second half of 2027' at the earliest
Speaking to This is Money, a DfT spokesman added: 'Self-driving vehicles have the potential to build an industry worth £42billion and provide 38,000 jobs by 2035, helping us deliver our Plan for Change by creating jobs to put money in the pockets of hardworking people and drive investment to secure Britain's future.'
It said it is now shifting focus to 'future pilots' of autonomous vehicles that allow 'removal of the safety driver'.
The news comes a year after that the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act became law, receiving Royal Assent on 20 May 2024.
It sets out the minimum safety threshold self-driving vehicles must achieve, which is a level 'at least as high as careful and competent human drivers'.
It also outlines that AVs will need to pass rigorous safety checks before being allowed on our roads.
The act allows for trials of automated vehicle technology in line with the government's 'world leading' Code of Practice.
However, the DfT admits the code will need to be reviewed to ensure it remains fit for purpose and can accommodate the safe deployment of trials and pilots of self-driving services in the future.
While the act promised to deliver 'the most comprehensive legal framework of its kind worldwide' for the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles in Britain, secondary legislation is still required in order to iron out liability issues if crashes occur and cybersecurity risk.
The Law Commission has already recommended that 'users' of driverless cars should not be held responsible for accidents or injuries caused when their vehicle is in self-driving mode.
Instead, liability should lie entirely at the hands of the vehicle manufacturer or provider of the self-driving technology, it said.
The Parliament's Transport Select Committee in 2023 warned that the introduction of driverless cars would come with many risks, including worsening congestion, and new dangers for 'less skilled' human drivers.
A YouGov survey of 4,087 Britons conducted earlier this month found that a mere 3 per cent of the public said they would prefer being transported by a self-driving car over one piloted by a human driver.
Two in five said they would want to be driven by another person, and half would rather do the driving themselves.
While there is little preference for the driverless car option across social groups, the poll identified a marked difference in the driver versus passenger preference; while most men and over 25s (51 per cent and 64 per cent respectively) would prefer to at the controls, these figures fall to just 39 per cent among women and 26 per cent for 18-24 year olds.
Concerns regarding self-driving vehicles likely result for the number of high-profile accidents - sometimes fatal - and near misses involving autonomous cars in the US.