Personal injury law firms and practitioners need to be aware that the government is consulting on its proposals for reforming:
- the scope of motor third party insurance cover
- construction and use regulations
- the Highway Code
The government is keen to encourage the commercial opportunities presented by rapidly developing automotive technologies. It believes that within 2 - 4 years could see the introduction on our roads of vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems. These will enable vehicles to assume control the driving in certain scenarios, such as in motorway traffic and remote parking. These will not be truly driverless vehicles as human supervision will still be necessary even when these systems are engaged.
The government does not believe that fully automated / driverless vehicles will be ready for the market until the mid 2020s.
The report is published by the Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles which is a jointly run policy unit managed by the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Follow this link for the report: Pathway to Driverless Cars: Proposals to support advanced driver assistance systems and automated vehicle technologies.
Law firms that have any significant RTA caseload would be wise to study these proposals as they could have an impact on the legal and regulatory framework that apply to road accident claims. There is a growing concern that the legal implications of its proposals have not been fully thought through. It is important that any misconceptions are flagged up by lawyers practicing in this field.
The deadline for responding is 9 September 2016.
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