{"id":5565,"date":"2022-05-13T09:40:42","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T08:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scrapcarnetwork.org\/news\/?p=5565"},"modified":"2025-02-26T19:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T19:56:11","slug":"planned-changes-to-the-law-for-driverless-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scrapcarnetwork.org\/news\/planned-changes-to-the-law-for-driverless-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"Planned changes to the law for driverless cars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Driverless cars have been on the way to UK roads for quite some time now, but there are still a couple of hurdles in the way of their widespread rollout. While some of those are practical and logistical, others are legal in nature – and that\u2019s exactly what the government\u2019s now trying to tackle.<\/p>\n

This is quite a big recent step – a new report by the UK Law Commission<\/a> has stated that human drivers should not be held legally accountable for road safety in the era of autonomous cars. Instead, they say that drivers of such vehicles should be redefined as a \u201cuser-in-charge\u201d, and should adhere to a different set of legal responsibilities.<\/p>\n

The changes to the law would generally mean that if anything were to go wrong with an automated car while it\u2019s on the road, the company behind the driving system would be responsible, not the driver. The report also recommends that a new framework be put in place to define whether a vehicle qualifies as self-driving, and also that car manufacturers be made to clearly define the difference between self-drive, and driver-assist features (basically, they have to be explicit about whether a car is autonomous or not).<\/p>\n

Now, if a driverless car is something that appeals to you, then you might already be thinking: hmm, maybe it\u2019s time to scrap my car<\/a>. We can help with that – here at Scrap Car Network, we\u2019ve become the largest partner of scrap car dealers and breakers in the UK, and we make it as easy as possible for you to scrap your car with us. But driverless cars aren\u2019t quite here yet! Here\u2019s what the UK Law Commission proposed about changes to the law surrounding them.<\/p>\n

Dangers to road users<\/h2>\n

The UK Law Commission for England, Scotland and Wales was asked in 2018 to produce a series of reports on the regulatory framework for automated vehicles, and their use on public roads.<\/p>\n

Its final reports included a few recommendations which include:<\/p>\n