Autonomous vehicle trials code of practice to be beefed up

The government has announced that advanced trials of autonomous vehicles will not be supported unless they have passed rigorous safety assessments.

In response to feedback from industry, the government has stated that its code of practice for testing automated vehicles will be strengthened further to set clearer expectations for safe and responsible trials.

Under the strengthened code, those carrying out trials for automated vehicles will be expected to publish safety information, trial performance reports and to carry out risks assessments before conducting a trial. Trialling organisations are also expected to inform the relevant authorities, emergency services, and anyone who might be affected by trial activity.

With the UK’s market for connected and automated vehicles estimated to be worth £52 billion by 2035, the government claims to be on track to meet its commitment to have fully self-driving vehicles on UK roads by 2021, as part of its modern Industrial Strategy.

Richard Harrington, Automotive Minister, said:

"The UK has a rich heritage in automotive development and manufacturing, with automated and electric vehicles set to transform the way we all live our lives.

"We want to ensure through the Industrial Strategy Future of Mobility Grand Challenge that we build on this success and strength to ensure we are home to development and manufacture of the next generation of vehicles.

"We need to ensure we take the public with us as we move towards having self-driving cars on our roads by 2021. The update to the code of practice will provide clearer guidance to those looking to carry out trials on public roads."

The ‘code of practice’, first published in 2015, makes clear that automated vehicle trials are possible on any UK road provided they are compliant with UK law - including testing with a remote driver. The update to the code acknowledges the growing desire of industry to conduct more advanced trials, and a process to handle such trials on public roads is now being developed.