Owners of self-driving cars will not be held liable for accidents under new UK law

The manufacturer will be responsible for crashes in autonomous mode

A self-driving Nissan Leaf car travels on on public road in Woolwich, south-east London, during a trial. Getty Images

Owners of self-driving cars will not be held responsible for any accidents under a new legal framework to develop autonomous vehicles in the UK, the government has announced.

Instead, the vehicle's manufacturer will be legally liable for crashes which occur in self-driving mode, it said.

The Automated Vehicles Bill was unveiled by King Charles III on Tuesday as he set out the government's legislative agenda for the coming parliamentary session.

“My ministers will introduce new legal frameworks to support the safe commercial development of emerging industries, such as self-driving vehicles,” he said in the King’s Speech to parliament.

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

It will also aim to ensure there is clear legal liability over who or which organisation is responsible during crashes involving self-driving cars.

When the car is in self-driving mode, the manufacturer operating the vehicle would be liable. Drivers retain the responsibility for non-driving aspects such as insurance and roadworthiness.

The government says this will stop users being held accountable in situations where that would not be fair.

Companies had said Britain could lose out on investment and start-ups would carry out testing elsewhere unless promised laws regulating AV technology were passed before the next general election, expected next year.

“ (The) new primary legislation for self-driving vehicles gives us the confidence to continue investing in R & and growing our talent base here in the UK,” said Alex Kendall, chief executive of AV start-up Wayve, which has raised around $260 million from investors, including Microsoft.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the legislation was needed in order to develop the industry.

“While the concept of truly driverless vehicles being commonplace on our roads might still be a little sci-fi to the average driver, there is no doubting the need for this bill.

“The technology is moving at pace and it's vital the UK isn't left behind.”

Tara Foley, head of UK and Ireland operations for global insurer AXA, said the legislation will add “multiple benefits for the UK economy, road safety and green jobs”.

“For insurers, it also provides crucial clarity for establishing liability for self-driving,” she added.

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

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.

Paul Newman, founder of Oxford-based AV software firm Oxa, which has raised about $225 million from investors, said the UK's proposed framework would unequivocally avoid a repeat of Cruise's situation in Britain because it clearly delineates responsibilities.

“There's an inevitability to this technology,” he said. “This a fantastic opportunity to get out in front and … create frameworks to build public trust.”