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Above: Driverless vehicles are already reshaping city streets, with new regulations paving the way for a significant uptick in autonomous transport on publoic roads.
or the technology company putting forward an AV for authorisation.
The second – and this is where fleets and drivers should start paying attention – is User In Charge (UIC). This means there is a qualified and insured driver at the wheel, who can take control of the vehicle if they need to, but they are neither actively driving nor are they considered responsible. “You’re kind of less than a driver, but you’re more than a passenger” says Butler, “you’re just able to seize control if you’re required to do so.” The third and final category is much clearer cut: No User In Charge (NUIC) means the vehicle is doing everything with no human input whatsoever. The vehicles themselves must be type-approved for use as AVs to receive ASDE status and to be allowed on the road. The specifics have yet to be nailed down, but that will involve a form of driving test, so the vehicle can demonstrate that it can travel autonomously and either match or better conventional human driving standards.
“While AVs are designed to be more cautious than your average human driver, they are not immune from accidents”
“Whoever supplies that vehicle is going to have to have something in place that makes sure it passes this test and maintains these standards,” adds Butler, “those authorisations can be suspended or varied or revoked, if the Secretary of State – or whichever authority it’s going to be – suspects that grounds for withdrawal have been met… If
it’s jumped a red light or just didn’t stop in time, someone might want to recall that vehicle and submit it to a further test.”
While the government’s press release announcing the AV Act says drivers will not be responsible for AVs in self-driving mode, the same statement says that insurance companies, software developers and vehicle manufacturers “can assume this responsibility”. The expectation is that they will, otherwise AVs would drown at birth, but that responsibility will almost certainly add cost. While AVs are designed to be more cautious than your average human driver, they are not immune from accidents, and the industry will be acutely aware of General Motors’ subsidiary Cruise and its Origin AV, which had no steering wheel or pedals. Production was shelved earlier this year, following an accident in San Francisco in October 2023, when a pedestrian, who was initially struck by another vehicle and then became entangled with a Cruise, was reportedly dragged around 20 feet. GM is continuing AV development, but instead with the next-generation Chevrolet Bolt.
The grey area for UK drivers in responsibility terms is if the vehicle tells them they need to take back control when faced with a situation it cannot handle independently. AVs suit highly predictable, regular routes and motorway-style open roads with clear, unobstructed markings, but they have a harder time with built-up areas. While the tech continues to march on, an advanced AV at home in the former environment may need to dial in the driver in the latter. Butler refers to this as a transition demand.
Above: Vehicle software specialist Oxa has conducted extensive autonomous vehicle trials in the UK
“The ultimate responsibility will be with the ASDE, but one exception to that will be if there’s been a transition demand. If a warning pops up on the dashboard and says you must now take hold of the wheel, then you have to question how alert that person will be to react to that demand. When you’re a passenger, your alert reaction time is much slower than the person who’s driving.
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