Feedback for consultation on driverless vehicles wanted
Fleets are being invited to contribute to a government consultation on driverless vehicles used in passenger-carrying services.
The consultation is inviting industry stakeholders to share their views on safety concerns around the new technology.
Barrie Wilson, commercial fleet consultant at FleetCheck, said: “The consultation is a valuable chance to drive down into the detail of how driverless vehicles will be used in alignment with well-established risk management principles, something that our user base has been discussing.
“For example, who will be responsible for inspecting a vehicle for roadworthiness before it is used? In most fleets, this task falls to the driver but, if there is no driver, then the job needs to be allocated to someone else.
“In the event of a collision or other incident, how do other drivers interact with the driverless vehicle in terms of such basic tasks as exchanging details and how the vehicle is recovered?
“Also, what implications does this have for driver hours, especially where a remote driver is employed as a safety net to the driverless technology? Does the existing legislation apply to that human, and how would tachograph or board recording take place for a coach or bus?”
Autonomous trials
The consultation, which runs until 28 September, will be followed next year by passenger-carrying fleet trials before widespread adoption is expected to be introduced in 2027.
Barrie concluded: “The practicalities of driverless adoption that are tackled through the government’s process with passenger-carrying fleets over the next couple of years are quite likely to become established norms for all kinds of operators with all kinds of vehicles in the future.
“The consultation provides an opportunity for fleets to raise issues that are central to everyday safety and we’d urge anyone with similar questions to those we have described here to make their voices heard.”
