Remote driving needs robust regulation before used on roads

The Law Commission has published advice to Government on how to regulate remote driving on UK roads.

It calls for both short-term changes to the law to respond to emerging safety concerns, as well as a new regulatory regime to govern remote driving on roads in the longer term.

The new paper considers remote driving where the driver does not have direct line of sight of the vehicle and may be in an operations centre many miles away. This could involve the driver using several screens and a control system to direct a vehicle on the road.

Safety challenges considered in the review include establishing reliable connectivity, driver situational awareness, a possible sense of “detachment” from the physical world, and cybersecurity – such as the threat of a terrorist seizing control of a vehicle.

The Commission concludes in its advice that remote driving on roads and public places should only be allowed if companies obtain special permissions.

The Commission’s advice to Government also considers who may be liable in the event of an accident with remotely driven vehicles – concluding that all victims should be protected by automatic compensation from insurers.While individual remote drivers would be responsible for their driving in the same way as in-vehicle drivers, they would not be liable for any faults beyond their control, such as those due to connectivity problems.

In its published paper for Government, the Law Commission remote driving advice includes short term measures to address gaps in the law, as current laws do not expressly prohibit the use of remote driving technology where the driver is beyond line of sight – clarity in the law is urgently required. A new prohibition measure could be brought in immediately.

It also recommends safety requirements for remote driving: under these short-term measures, companies wanting to use remote driving beyond line-of-sight on roads without an in-vehicle safety driver could submit a safety case to the Vehicle Certification Agency and apply for a vehicle special order.