UK wants self-driving car makers liable for crashes

Britain will place legal liability for self-driving cars that crash with the company that makes them rather than the user as part of a framework for the development of the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry, the government said on Tuesday.

King Charles said the government would bring forward an Automated Vehicles Bill as he set out the government’s legislative agenda for the coming parliamentary session, after one promised last year didn’t materialise.

“My ministers will introduce new legal frameworks to support the safe commercial development of emerging industries, such as self-driving vehicles,” he said in a speech to lawmakers.

Companies have warned that Britain could lose out on investments in AVs and see start-ups shift testing elsewhere if promised laws to regulate the technology aren’t passed before the next general election, expected next year.

The government said the bill would protect users and promote safety in the AV industry.

“While the vehicle is driving itself, a company rather than an individual will be responsible for the way it drives,” the government said. “The Bill gives people immunity from prosecution when a self-driving vehicle is driving itself, given it does not make sense to then hold the person sat behind the wheel responsible.”

Self-driving industry experts have warned that building out national regulatory frameworks and establishing legal liability are crucial for public acceptance of autonomous vehicles and for insurers to provide coverage.

The bill will establish new processes to investigate incidents and improve the safety framework, and will also set the threshold for what is classified as a self-driving car.

If a vehicle falls short of that threshold, the driver will be responsible at all times, the government said, and the bill will prohibit misleading marketing so that cars that fall short of the safety threshold can’t be marketed as self-driving.

In the US market where states have led the way in testing self-driving cars, California regulators last month ordered General Motors’ driverless car unit Cruise to remove its vehicles from state roads, saying it had “misrepresented” the technology’s safety.

Reuters