On 19 July 2018, the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 received royal assent as part of the Government’s strategy to promote the development and deployment of both automated and electric vehicles. The Act is intended to enable consumers in the United Kingdom to benefit from improvements in transport technology. The Act makes provision for:
- the creation of a new liability scheme for insurers in relation to automated vehicles, and
- the creation of regulations relating to the installation and operation of charging points and hydrogen refuelling points for electric vehicles
It also sets out the regulatory framework to enable new transport technology to be invented, designed, made and used in the United Kingdom.
With the development of AVs comes numerous questions such as:
- How safe will AVs be?
- Who will be in control?
- Who is responsible if there is an accident caused by an AV?
- How will the owner’s data be used and where will it be stored?
- How robust are AVs against hacking
- What are the insurance implications?
- What happens if there is a problem with the software updates or the owner doesn’t upload a software update?
This new title covers the implications of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 and breaks down this new and developing area of law. It covers the topography of the ADAS and AV legal landscape and considers the laws of ADAS and AV systems in three broad areas of law:
- civil law
- criminal law
- public law
Each chapter dealing with civil law, criminal law and public all follow the same structure:
- commentary explaining the laws
- relevant parts of statute law
- relevant regulations
- guidelines relevant to legal cases, for example the relevant parts of the Highway Code
- case summaries – UK and International
The book helps lawyers and Judges approach the challenging task of presenting and adjudicating ADAS and AV cases, including cases in which AI plays a part. It is also of great interest to non-lawyers working in the field (industry and government) who need to know the principles of British AV law and to students studying law subjects with AV and AI components.
