Muddy Road Ahead Part II: Liability Legislation For Autonomous Vehicles In The United Kingdom

The Situation: The United Kingdom is positioning itself as the "go to" location to develop, test, and drive automated vehicles, but questions remain as to how its existing product liability regime should respond to this developing technology.

The Plan: The UK Government expects to see fully self-driving cars on UK roads by 2021. It has already enacted legislation to provide an insurance model for automated vehicles. Earlier this year, it commissioned a detailed and wide-ranging review of applicable regulations with the aim of ensuring legislation keeps pace with technological developments.

Looking Ahead: We can expect there to be a number of legislative changes in the coming years to reflect and facilitate innovation in the area of driverless cars, which may serve as an example to other European countries.

The diverging European regulations on automated driving are addressed in an earlier Jones Day Commentary, which also addressed the Commission Report of the European Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC. This Commentary looks more closely at the United Kingdom.

UK Legal Regime Is Better Developed Than Most

The UK Government indicated its commitment in 2015 to developing a light-touch, minimally regulated approach to the testing and development of these technologies, in a bid to position the United Kingdom as a premium global location for their development. It has announced that it expects to see fully self-driving cars on UK roads by 2021, and automated vehicles form a key part of the "Future of Mobility Grand Challenge" commenced in July 2018 as part of the UK Government's Industrial Strategy.

Attempts are being made to ensure that legislation keeps pace with technological change and that it facilitates rather than impedes innovation. Real-world testing of self-driving vehicles on public roads is already possible, and plans are in place to allow testing without a safety driver. Legislative changes introduced earlier this year allow drivers to use technology like remote control parking on British roads.

The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018which introduces an insurance framework for these types of vehiclesreceived Royal Assent on 19 July 2018 but has not yet come into force. Under the Act, an insurer will have default liability for death, personal injury and property damage (other than damage to the automated vehicle itself or goods carried for hire) resulting from an accident caused by an automated vehicle when driving itself...