Drivers have just a few hours left to respond to two major consultations that could shape the future of British roads.
Two consultations on the future of self-driving cars will end at midnight today (Monday, September 1), with drivers and organisations encouraged to share their views.
The consultations, which were set up by the Department for Transport and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, will inform future policy.
The first consultation looks at the safety standards sought for automated vehicles operating in the UK as outlined in Section 2 of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024.
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Drivers and experts are being urged to provide feedback to the consultations before they end tonight
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Drivers and key players in the motoring sector are being asked how the safety principles could be used, how the safety standards can be described and how safety performance may be measured.
Questions included in the consultation could be used when authorities are carrying out vehicle type approval, regulatory compliance checks and for annual assessments.
It is hoped that the self-driving market in the UK could be worth up to £42billion by 2035, as well as supporting 38,000 new jobs.
Experts have touted the benefits of the self-driving revolution by improving road safety, with 88 per cent of collisions involving human error.
The second consultation will look at the marketing to protect certain terms being used to market vehicles that have not been authorised as automated vehicles.
The key aim of the consultation is to see whether the following terms should be protected:
- Self-driving
- Drive itself
- Driverless
- Automated driving
- Autonomous driving
- Drive autonomously
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It follows on from a previous consultation that considered the existing law, with the Law Commissions proposing that an agency should be responsible for the safety of automated vehicles following deployment.
Three-in-five people agreed that the agency should have specific responsibility for, among other things, market surveillance and regulating consumer and marketing materials.
Responding to the original consultation, KPMG LLP said: “While these points are often viewed as second or third-order questions, they are critical to investment and the safe deployment of AVs.”
The consultation also looks at how specific symbols and marks should be assessed if they indicate that a vehicle is self-driving.
The UK’s acceleration towards self-driving technology has been praised by the Government, noting that it will “kickstart economic growth” and help in the mission to become an AI superpower.
Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “The AV Act delivers one of the most comprehensive legal frameworks of its kind anywhere in the world, with safety at its core, which will give potential operators, tech developers and manufacturers the confidence to invest in the UK.
“It sets out clear legal responsibilities so businesses know where they stand, establishes a safety framework and creates the necessary regulatory powers.”
At the time of the consultations being launched, the Government also published a 23-point outline to set out the Transport AI Action Plan to “improve transport for everyone in the UK”.