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24 March 2021
Issue: 7926 / Categories: Legal News , Health & safety , Profession
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Regulating driverless vehicles

The minimum safety standard for an autonomous vehicle (AV) should be higher than that of the ‘average’ human driver, lawyers have said

This would include better reaction times, the ability to assess the surrounding environment and potential hazards, lawyers at Kennedys said, in response to the Law Commission’s third and final consultation on regulation of driverless vehicles.

They said reducing collisions was one of the perceived benefits of AVs therefore the standard should be safer than the average human. ‘This would include better reaction times, the ability to assess the surrounding environment and potential hazards and so on.’

They expressed concern about a proposal to give AV operators a set period of perhaps ten seconds in which to retake control in an emergency, and called for clear guidance on when liability switches between the driver and AV.

However, the Bar Council response suggested using the same legal standard as that applied to human drivers, as the courts have shown they can adapt that standard to circumstance.

Issue: 7926 / Categories: Legal News , Health & safety , Profession
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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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