Consultation launched on driverless passenger vehicles
The government has launched a new consultation on driverless passenger vehicles ahead of limited trials next year.
The consultation, open until 28 September and covering taxis, buses and other passenger vehicles, is now inviting fleets and other industry stakeholders to share their views on potential challenges of driverless vehicles and how regulation can support the sector maximise opportunities.
The government is holding the consultation ahead of the implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act in 2027.
Paul Hollick, chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), said: “This consultation will be of huge interest because it represents the first wave of driverless vehicle adoption in the UK, something which will probably have repercussions for all vehicle operators in the future.
“The scope of the exercise is quite wide ranging, looking at what the consultation describes as the challenges and benefits of driverless vehicles. Its outcome and the subsequent trials could directly impact on whether, for example, these vehicles must always be used with a remote safety driver or allowed to operate entirely autonomously.
“Issues such as this will in the medium-term probably have significant ramifications for our members in both operational and risk management respects.”
Critical phase
Hollick continued: “The phase we are now entering will probably determine core expectations about safety, competence and utility. It could well define some important baselines.
“There are very big questions to be answered from a fleet risk point of view, that we may now start to see resolved. At the most fundamental level, fleets will want to know whether it is safe to put employees in driverless vehicles, how it affects the risk of injury to them and to other road users, and how their insurers will view its adoption?
“With trials now only a year away, we should start to build up a detailed picture quite quickly.”
