The laws around driverless cars in the UK, explained

Yahoo

20-05-2025

Uber has said it is ready to launch driverless taxis in the UK. Andrew Macdonald, a vice-president at the company, told the BBC: "We're ready to launch robotaxis in the UK as soon as the regulatory environment is ready for us."
Exactly one year ago, Rishi Sunak's government passed the Automated Vehicles Act into law, declaring "self-driving vehicles could be on British roads by 2026".
The then Conservative government declared that travel would be "revolutionised" by the £42 billion sector, promising to increase road safety and "unlocking opportunities for those who currently can't drive". Deaths and injuries from drink driving, speeding, tiredness and inattention could, they said, be drastically reduced
This week, however, the new Labour government said that the 2026 target would come and go and that it would be another year before fully driverless are approved.
But what exactly are the laws on driverless cars - and when could they hit British roads.
The Automated Vehicles Act passed under the previous government outlined the legal framework for autonomous vehicles.
It requires self-driving vehicles to "achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or higher than, that of careful and competent human drivers" and for road safety in Britain to "be better... than it would otherwise be" as a result of these cars being in use.
Human error contributes to nine in 10 road collisions.
The transport secretary - now Heidi Alexander - is the person who can authorise self-driving cars for use once they are satisfied safety requirements have been met.
Under the law, the person behind the wheel - labelled as the 'user-in-charge' - would not be held responsible for the actions of a vehicle while in self-driving mode. Businesses such as insurers, manufacturers and software developers would be liable if something goes wrong.
This week, the Department for Transport told the BBC: "We are working quickly and will implement self-driving vehicle legislation in the second half of 2027.
"We are also exploring options for short-term trials and pilots to create the right conditions for a thriving self-driving sector."
Trials of autonomous vehicle technology have been ongoing across the UK, such as by Wayve in London and Oxa in Oxford.
But Dr Siddartha Khastgir, head of safe autonomy at Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick, told Yahoo News that if the government does approve self-driving cars in 2027, it will be 2028 - at the earliest - before they are actually on the roads.
"It's a hard thing to do, to approve an automated driving system. There is a lot of scientific evidence needed to create the policy, which takes time. That's why I think the government is right to ask for more time, because we do not want to approve unsafe systems.
"It's a three-step process: regulation being published, [manufacturers] understanding the regulations and then seeking approval, and then actually having products on the road.
"I don't see that happening any time before 2028."
Paul Newman, founder of Oxa, an autonomous vehicle software developer, and professor of information engineering at the University of Oxford, also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme self-driving cars will have to be "rock solid" in terms of safety before they are rolled out.
"The UK is leading in regulation and legislation around autonomous vehicles being allowed on our roads.
"I don't think anyone's in a rush to do something until we can be sure, and have assurance and insurance, and absolutely rock solid safety arguments, to earn that trust around the use of AI in... changing the way people and goods move."
YouGov polling last year suggested 37% of Britons would feel "very unsafe" in a driverless car.
I went for a ride in a self-driving taxi to see Britain's future (The Telegraph)
LA tech entrepreneur nearly misses flight after getting trapped in robotaxi (The Guardian)