UK Drivers Using Self-Driving Features Would NOT Be Liable for Accidents! But Why?

Drivers in the United Kingdom (UK) using self-driving features on their vehicles would apparently not be liable for any accidents.

The new roadmap of the British nation revealed its liability rules in its new roadmap for its rollout of self-driving cars in the next few years, or in 2025, to be more exact.

UK Drivers Using Self-Driving Features: Will They Be Liable for Accidents?

As per the latest news by Tech Crunch, the UK has laid out how it plans to embrace the looming ubiquity of self-driving vehicles in the country.

It comes as the British government introduced a new roadmap that seeks to make the existence of self-driving cars on the UK roads as we reach the middle of the decade.

The UK government further adds that as early as next year or in 2023, self-driving vehicles could start hitting the roads in the European superpower.

The new roadmap of the UK clearly states that "a human driver would not be liable for incidents related to driving while the vehicle is in control of driving."

And instead, the roadmap clarifies that makers of these autonomous vehicles are liable for accidents that may arise while the car is rolling in self-driving mode.

It also highlighted that the self-driving legislation would be based on current laws in the European country.

Tech Crunch notes in its report that the roadmap of the UK in terms of liability is clearer than in other territories.

The tech news outlet highlights a previous case wherein an autonomous Uber car had rammed over a pedestrian, leading to the death of the latter back in 2017.

However, the human behind the wheel of the autonomous Uber faced a charge of negligent homicide with a dangerous instrument.

On the other hand, the ride-hailing app behind the self-driving vehicle was free from any charge from the courts.

So it appears that the laws outside of the UK still put the liability in such accidents into what appears to be a gray area. But the British nation seeks to make this clear as it launches its 2025 self-driving roadmap.

Self-Driving Vehicle Roadmap of the UK

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, the plan of the UK government for a widespread rollout of autonomous vehicles in 2025 receives a cool roughly over $100 million investment.

A bulk of the hundred million investment, roughly £20 million or $23 million, goes to the research projects, which should help the country form laws for the new self-driving technology.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris