I am not against the idea of such a technological revolution but cannot really see how it would work on our roads until the stage is reached when every single vehicle, passenger, freight, private, public transport and the rest operate under the same system. Only in this way can the technology interact and communicate with the individual vehicles without the element of human interference or error in human judgement in the equation.
The "Automated and Electric Vehicles Act" passed by the UK Parliament this year (2018) has been self-proclaimed as the most forward thinking in the world in relation to acheiving the great aim of emission free motoring. This is indeed a very commendable motivation and as a further step in trying to claw back the environment but I have every doubt that it would be a workable proposition for the other part of the legislation covering driver-less modes of transport.
The Legislation cover the key issues of liability and insurance for driver-less vehicles which, in parallel with the technology must be clearly defined and unambiguous in their understanding and application amongst those who would aspire to ownership and operation of the next generation of, in particular, personal transport.
I do not propose to go through the AEV Act line by line, provision by provision but would like to concentrate on just one aspect covered by the following extract.
The insurer or owner of an automated vehicle is not liable to the person in charge of the vehicle where the accident that it caused was wholly due to the person's negligence in allowing the vehicle to begin driving itself when it was not appropriate to do so.
This, to me appears to be a very vague and open ended statement.
Surely the reason for owning or using an automated vehicle is to assist a person in their own motoring needs. This could be down to a disability as much as to a lifestyle whim.
The crux of the matter is that at some stage the responsible person makes the decision to make a driver-less journey.
I would hope that such a vehicle would be fully roadworthy, durable and capable of managing all road and driving conditions and environments across all of the usual seasonal hazards of ice, snow, rain, melted tarmac, high winds and poor visibility. This is of course in addition to built in safeguards to protect impact with pedestrians, cyclists, animals and other road users. (The argument about the ethical decision making of an automated vehicle to save its passengers or others involved outside of the vehicle is something to consider on another day)
The all round fitness for purpose and suitability of a vehicle under such constraints would determine that the decision to adopt the driver-less mode would not be a matter requiring heart and conscience searching judgement; it would just be a matter of a casual consideration for any normal road trip, be it to the corner shop or farther afield.
The definition of a persons negligence is therefore unclear.
The Act does not mention whether the person should be sober, not under the influence of drugs, free from any debilitating medical condition or even just a little bit drowsy for whatever reason.
Of course any vehicle driver must comply with the current law about such things although wouldn't the option of a driver less car be open to abuse for those not otherwise in a fit state to actually drive themselves. Could a human be trusted to just walk away from a driver-less vehicle in the same way that a law abiding citizen would hand over their keys if incapable of driving?
The Act rather simply defines where the liability for an accident or damage lies with the insurer and where the owner carries this burden but it all seems to come back to the interpretation of the term of when it is not appropriate for the owner to allow the vehicle to begin driving itself.
As with most fledgling, and in this case pioneering, Legislation it is often a matter of the provisions being tested in real life and death situations and I will keep a close eye on any developments in the coming years as well as my wits about me when I am out on the road myself either cocooned in my normal self drive vehicle, on my pedal cycle or walking nervously along the pavement.
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