Automated Vehicle Liability in Great Britain

The UK Government has sought to position the UK as a world-leading development hub for automated vehicles. It recognised that an effective regulatory model for automated vehicles was necessary to achieve this. After an extensive review of UK road traffic law by the Department for Transport, the Law Commission of England and Wales, and the Scottish Law Commission, were tasked with ‘reviewing the UK’s regulatory framework to enable the safe and effective deployment of automated vehicles on Great Britain’s roads.’ Meanwhile, the world’s first insurer liability scheme for automated vehicles was enacted in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018. This chapter provides a detailed overview of the existing law and insurance requirements for vehicles at SAE Levels 0–2 in Great Britain. Thereafter, it carries out an extensive analysis of the new insurer liability regime for ‘automated vehicles’ (SAE Levels 3–5) under the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018. It also sets out a detailed review of the various recommendations of the Law Commissions in their three Consultation Papers and their Joint Report in 2022. Finally, it examines how automated vehicle insurers might then recover their losses under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, along with the law of tort/delict and contract.