UK mulls legislation to allow self-driving vehicles

British Transport Minister Mark Harper has announced that self-driving cars could potentially be seen on some UK roads as early as 2026, as a bill that aims to regulate the use of automated vehicles is currently making its way through the House of Lords.

“This technology exists, it works, and what we’re doing is putting in place the proper legislation so that people can have full confidence in the safety of this technology,” Harper told BBC Radio.

Cars with full self-driving technology are not currently permitted on Britain’s roads, but the government’s Automated Vehicles (AV) legislation is going through parliament, meaning that a legal framework for them should be in place by the end of 2024, said Harper.

“Probably by as early as 2026, people will start seeing some elements of these cars that have full self-driving capabilities being rolled out.

“It’ll be gradual, so there’ll be companies rolling it out to be used in certain places.” Harper said.

Harper said he has seen the automated technology in action where it has been approved for use on public roads in California.

“We already know the technology works,” he stated.

Under the legislation announced in November, Britain plans for the makers rather than the owners of self-driving cars to be legally liable for any crashes, and the government has said the bill will protect users and promote safety in the AV industry.

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Critics of the technology, which has been trialled in the United States, say that the vehicles can cause crashes, and in California, regulators ordered General Motors’ driverless car unit Cruise to remove its vehicles from state roads after an accident in October.

When debating the bill in November, Lord Naseby said that as of November 10, the California Department of Motor Vehicles had received 673 autonomous vehicle collision reports.

“Well, if safety is primary to this legislation, that is not a very good start, is it?” Naseby said.

However, Harper said that the technology had the potential to improve road safety.

“I think it will actually improve road safety. We already have a very good road safety record in Britain, but there are still several thousand people killed on our roads every year. That could be improved.

“It’s a big economic opportunity for Britain to get what will be a big global share of market. The final thing is, there are a lot of people who currently don’t have the opportunity to get the freedom that many of us drivers take for granted.

“Everything I’ve seen about automated vehicles and self-driving technologies is very focused on keeping people safe,” he said.