An already stretched judiciary requires in-depth guidance from the UK government if the regulation of autonomous vehicles is to be successful, law firm Kennedys has told the Law Commission’s consultation on their introduction.
In its response to the regulatory framework consultation for the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles in the UK, which closed today, Kennedys said: “Further guidance will be required for the judiciary. Court time, both in civil and criminal litigation, is very limited, as is judicial resource.”
“There is typically little or no time for a forensic examination of vehicle automated driving systems in a sub-large-loss or less serious criminal cases. As such, judges are very likely to take an ‘aerial’ view when assessing fault, which could lead to unintended consequences, including satellite litigation and unfairness.”
The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), a part of the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, asked the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission to undertake a review of the legal framework for automated vehicles, and their use as part of public transport networks and on-demand.
CCAV’s request was a part of wider government plan to assess the viability of autonomous vehicle technology, which includes a process being developed to support advanced trials of automated vehicles.