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01 September 2016 / Nicholas Bevan
Issue: 7712 / Categories: Features , Personal injury
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Self-driving vehicles: the road ahead

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Nicholas Bevan reviews the implications of automated motor technology on road safety & legal practice

IN BRIEF

  • Important regulatory reform proposals for automated vehicle technology.
  • Road traffic accident practitioners have until 9 September to respond.

Road traffic accident practitioners are no doubt monitoring closely the rapid advance of automated motor technology. These increasingly sophisticated systems have important implications not just for road safety but also for legal practice as well as the regulatory framework that governs motor liability and insurance.

Transport revolution

We have become inured to the stubbornly high casualty statistics associated with road transport. The Department for Transport (DfT) inform us that there were 1,732 fatalities on our roads last year and several hundred thousand other casualties. Yet, this could be set to change. We are about to witness a revolution in transport, which by first restricting and ultimately removing entirely the scope for human driver-error, offers the prospect of dramatically improved road safety and, in consequence, cheaper motor insurance.

Last month the DfT published its latest proposals

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Hugh James—Jonathan Askin

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London corporate and commercial team announces partner appointment

Michelman Robinson—Daniel Burbeary

Michelman Robinson—Daniel Burbeary

Firm names partner as London office managing partner

Kingsley Napley—Jonathan Grimes

Kingsley Napley—Jonathan Grimes

Firm appoints new head of criminal litigation team

NEWS
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APIL sees off ‘substantial prejudice’ defence
Personal injury lawyers have welcomed a government U-turn on a ‘substantial prejudice’ defence that risked enabling defendants in child sexual abuse civil cases to have proceedings against them dropped
‘Lost years’ precedent overturned
Children can claim for ‘lost years’ damages in personal injury cases, the Supreme Court has held in a landmark judgment
NLJ this week: Neutral counsel in a polarised age
The cab-rank rule remains a bulwark of the rule of law, yet lawyers are increasingly judged by their clients’ causes. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian McDougall, president of the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, warns that conflating representation with endorsement is a ‘clear and present danger’
NLJ this week: When ‘milk’ really means milk
The Supreme Court has drawn a firm line under branding creativity in regulated markets. In Dairy UK Ltd v Oatly AB, it ruled that Oatly’s ‘post-milk generation’ trade mark unlawfully deployed a protected dairy designation. In NLJ this week, Asima Rana of DWF explains that the court prioritised ‘regulatory clarity over creative branding choices’, holding that ‘designation’ extends beyond product names to marketing slogans
NLJ this week: Civil practice with claws & caution
From cat fouling to Part 36 brinkmanship, the latest 'Civil way' round-up is a reminder that procedural skirmishes can have sharp teeth. NLJ columnist Stephen Gold ranges across recent decisions with his customary wit
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