New code issued for driverless cars

A new code for driverless cars being tested in public places has been issued.

Writing in this week’s NLJ, Lucy McCormick, barrister at Henderson Chambers, says failure to adhere to the new code could be relevant in any subsequent liability proceedings. Three trials of driverless cars, or “autonomous vehicles”, are either currently or soon to be taking place.

Key ingredients of the code include the presence of a “driver”, the existence of a “black box” and effective safeguards against hacking.

McCormick notes that legislative quirks have given the UK a “significant head start in becoming the test bed of an industry that is anticipated to be worth £900bn a year globally by 2025”.

She writes that the government is seeking to build on this by amending domestic regulations by summer 2017 to accommodate further developments in driverless technology