Blog : When Will Self-Driving Cars Be Allowed In The UK?

The UK Government has announced that "self-driving" vehicles could be allowed on UK roads before the end of the year. What does this mean for drivers?

In April 2021, The Department of Transport announced that “self-driving” vehicles could be allowed on UK roads before the end of the year. It’s taken a little longer than expected, but changes are on the way. So, what exactly can we expect for the future of driving and what’s already been agreed? What technology is already available and what might the future of transportation look like?

The UK Government is keen to embrace self-driving technology and has started the process of updating The Highway Code to keep ahead of the rapidly improving technology, which will enable safer and more efficient travel on Britain's roads.

Before we investigate this in a little more detail, it’s important to understand that “self-driving cars” are not the same as “fully autonomous cars”. These proposed changes will still require competent driver to be behind the wheel to take control when needed.

What is a self-driving car?

There are different levels of driving automation:

• Level 1 – Driver Assistance: Driver assistance systems support the driver, but do not take control 
• Level 2 – Partly Automated Driving: Systems can also take control, but the driver remains responsible for operating the vehicle
• Level 3 – Highly Automated Driving: In certain situations, the driver can disengage from the driving for extended periods of time
• Level 4 – Fully Automated Driving: The vehicle drives independently most of the time. The driver must remain able to drive, but can, for example, take a nap
• Level 5 – Full Automation: The vehicle assumed all driving functions, the people in the vehicle are only passengers

The proposed changes would allow some Level 3 Automated Driving to be allowed on UK roads.

What changes are being made to allow self-driving cars in the UK?

The Government announced in April 2022 that changes to The Highway Code will begin to take place in response to a public consultation. These are expected to come into effect over the summer of 2022. 

The initial changes will allow the steady introduction of self-driving technology ensuring that the technology is used safely. It’s expected that the changes will start with vehicles moving at slow speeds on motorways, such as in congested traffic.

At the moment driving technology can only be "assistive", meaning that the drivers must always remain in control and responsible, however, proposed changes will allow drivers using a self-driving mode to have the technology take control of the vehicle. However, the driver must be ready to “resume control in a timely way” if they are prompted to, for example when approaching a motorway exit. 

The changes proposed will also see a change to current regulations surrounding what can be viewed on built-in display screens. Currently the only information allowed must be related to driving, however, the proposed changes will allow drivers to watch TV while in self-driving mode. Using a mobile phone while driving will remain illegal.

Why do we need/want self-driving and autonomous transport?

Self-driving and autonomous electric vehicles are seen as the future of transportation by many. Love it or hate it, this type of technology is already in production and working.

It’s hoped that introducing self-driving and autonomous technology on a large scale will improve road safety, improve public transport, and drastically cut down congestion and air pollution. There are a number of positives: 

• Road Safety – 88% of road collisions have "human error" listed as a contributing factor in the UK. It’s hoped that increasing technology to limit the possibility of human error will drastically reduce road collisions and deaths. 
• Urban congestion – Self-driving/autonomous cars and public transport could see the end of urban congestion. With vehicles and traffic lights communicating with each other to keep traffic flowing, this should allow a steady stream of traffic and reduced emissions and air pollution in towns and cities.
• Public Transportation – Reducing urban congestion should lead to public transport being more reliable. The technology could also be used to provide transportation to historically disconnected and rural areas.
• Mobility Transport – As self-driving/autonomous technology advances people who have mobility issues will have better access to personal transportation. 

When can I get a self-driving car?

At the moment, self-driving cars aren’t available in the UK, and models which do include these features have them disabled (or limited to an assist function) until regulation catches up with the technological advances. The Department of Transportation has said that the first vehicles capable of driving themselves could be ready for use later this year (2022). 

What happens if you have an accident in self-driving mode?

The Law Commission has published recommendations suggesting that human drivers should not be held legally accountable for road safety in the era of autonomous driving and that the company behind the driving system would be responsible, rather than the driver.

However, fully autonomous driving is still a longer way off and features like “self-driving mode”, will still be seen as driver assist systems rather than fully autonomous. 

Until we get to the point where there is no need for a driver at all, transportation safety experts have stressed that drivers need to be made aware that they “must remain engaged” and ready to resume driving “at any time”. The Department of Transport has stated that if an accident occurs whilst using self-driving technology, insurance companies rather than individuals will be liable for claims.

When could we see fully autonomous driving in the UK?

Driverless cars are already on the roads in the US and undergoing rigorous testing. The main hurdle for these vehicles is operating safely and effectively in unpredictable human environments.

While driverless vehicles should very calmly and serenely get you from A to B, not every human driver around it will behave the same way. In order for the technology to be adopted alongside human drivers and pedestrians, they need to be able to cope with drivers breaking the rules of the road e.g. speeding and erratic driving.

Until the technology can work side by side with existing vehicles, it’s going to be difficult to promote mass adoption. 

In the shorter term, driverless technology could be deployed in a more industrial, commercial or military setting, in high-risk areas which could limit danger to human life.

Mines in western Australia are already using this technology and a Rio Tinto mine is currently operating the largest autonomous fleet in the world, controlling the trucks from a centralised system miles away in Perth. 

It's expected that driverless HGVs on motorways could be seen in the near future. Technology companies are already investigating the possibility of HGV Platoons, which will drive a close distance to each other, stopping other vehicles from separating them. This will also make them more fuel efficient and they can take advantage of the slipstream of the truck in front, this will also help to cut down congestion as the lorries will take up less space on the road. 

Predictions for mass introduction of driverless cars has been historically terrible. It’s unlikely that a “big switch” will happen at any point, and more likely that small changes and advances will be made over a long period of time. 

Future Predictions for driver-less driving in the UK

Experts disagree on whether autonomous vehicles will ever become the norm, with the technology relying heavily on regulation changes and huge costs for infrastructure changes, it’s difficult to say whether autonomous vehicles could become the new normal.

Many industry experts see the switch to driverless vehicles as a way of people removing their reliance on having a car at all. So, owning an autonomous vehicle will be pretty unlikely any time soon. The cost of producing such a vehicle would put it out of the remit of most people and “ride hailing” or subscription services would likely become the norm. 

Your guesses are as good as ours, and we would love to know your predictions for the future of driving and transportation...