The UK government has just allowed self-driving vehicles to operate on roads by 2026 as the Automated Vehicles Act becomes law.
New law paves the way for a £42 billion industry by 2035
According to the press release, the UK government officially passed the “world-leading” Automated Vehicles (AV) Act on May 20, 2024.
King Charles III indicated in his speech last year that the AV Act seeks to allow advanced technology to safely drive autonomous vehicles on British roads. The landmark law paves the way for a potential £42 billion industry and 38,000 skilled jobs by 2035.
Starting in 2026, the UK government will start authorizing self-driving vehicles on the country’s roads while ensuring “proper accountability up and down the AV supply chain.”
However, it must be noted that prospective vehicles must first achieve a safety level at least as high as careful and competent human drivers.
Necessary safety checks and rigorous testing
The UK government heavily prioritizes road safety as it expects the AV Act to substantially reduce human error, which tends to account for 88% of road crashes.
As mentioned, the new AV Act will mandate self-driving cars to match the driving safeness of careful and skilled human drivers.
Moreover, prospective self-driving cars must also fulfill rigorous safety inspections before securing the approval to operate on public roads.
In effect, the UK government can avoid future deaths and injuries usually caused by drunk driving, speeding, tiredness, and inattention.
“Britain stands at the threshold of an automotive revolution and this new law is a milestone moment for our self-driving industry, which has the potential to change the way we travel forever. While this doesn’t take away people’s ability to choose to drive themselves, our landmark legislation means self-driving vehicles can be rolled out on British roads as soon as 2026, in a real boost to both safety and our economy.”
Transport Secretary Mark Harper
Liability
As indicated in the press release, human drivers will not be accountable for how the autonomous vehicle drives when in self-driving mode.
Therefore, relevant companies, such as insurance providers, software developers, and automotive OEMs, will assume responsibility.
As for state support, the UK government has allocated more than £600 million in taxpayers’ cash to the domestic local self-driving vehicle industry since 2015. This significant funding helped to “create innovative new companies, build the AV supply chain, and lay the groundwork for the early commercial market.”
