RISE OF SELF-DRIVING CARS PROMPTS ROAD LAW REVIEW

The Government has commissioned a review of the UK’S driving laws in an effort to make sure they keep pace with the rising tide of “selfdriving” cars.

Roads Minister Jesse Norman this week announced the start of a three-year review by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission to examine any legal obstacles to the widespread introduction of self-driving vehicles and highlight the need for regulatory reforms.

The review will look at how laws created to govern “traditional” motoring need to be adjusted to reflect the fact selfdriving vehicles of the future will not have a ‘driver’ or perhaps even a steering wheel.

Among the key questions it will examine are who is responsible for the vehicle on the road, how to allocate civil or criminal responsibility when there is shared control and whether new criminal offences will be needed to deal with “novel” types of conduct or interference - hacking a connected car, for instance.

It will also examine the role of automated vehicles in public and on-demand transport environments, the impact of self-driving vehicles on other road users and how to protect those users from risk.

Jesse Norman said: “The UK is a world leader for self-driving vehicle research and development, and this work marks an important milestone in our continued commitment to the technology.

“With driving technology advancing at an unprecedented rate, it is important that our laws and regulations keep pace so that theuk can remain one of the world leaders in this field.”

Scottish Law Commissioner Caroline Drummond added: “Automated vehicles could have a big impact on the way we live and work so it’s important that, Uk-wide, we have a legal system which can accommodate them.”