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15 November 2018 / Nicholas Bevan
Issue: 7817 / Categories: Features , Insurance / reinsurance
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Driverless vehicles: a future perfect?

In the first part of a special series on road traffic accident reform, Nicholas Bevan reports on the challenges posed by automated vehicles

  • An overview of Part I of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018, which is intended to fill the gap in civil liability law highlighted by the rise of automated vehicles such as driverless cars.

Part I of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (AEVA 2018) represents the most radical reform to the regulatory framework of compulsory motor insurance for 88 years. It is intended to address a gap in our civil liability law made manifest by developments in vehicle automation. This government is keen to facilitate this technology that promises to transform our lives in the future.

In 2017, the chancellor of the exchequer stated that the government intended these reforms to get driverless cars on our roads by 2021; much depends upon what is meant by ‘driverless’.

Third-party motor insurance was made compulsory under the Road Traffic Act 1930. The objective was, and remains, to guarantee that motor accident

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NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

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