Uk Seeks To Legislate Liability For Autonomous Vehicles

As the capabilities and prevalence of autonomous vehicles increase, governments continue to attempt to address the consequences that flow from an increasingly autonomous environment. A recently introduced bill in the United Kingdom, the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill, considers how insurance should adapt to a driverless future so that persons injured by vehicles operating in autonomous mode, including the "driver", can recover from the insurer and are not forced to pursue what could be a lengthy and complicated product liability action.

In the UK, insurance is primarily driver-centric — drivers are required to carry insurance to cover injury or damage to third-parties arising out of a driving related incident. Changes to this regime are required to ensure that in circumstances where there is no "driver", coverage to third-parties will remain available.