On 17 June 2026, the Department for Transport and the UK government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles opened a new consultation inviting views from any interested parties on its draft statement of safety principles for automated vehicles [Automated vehicles: statement of safety principles consultation – GOV.UK].
The statement is a requirement under section 2 of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, which established the legal basis for the regulation of automated self-driving vehicles on the roads in Great Britain.
Once finalised, the statement will set out the key safety principles which the Secretary of State will apply when assessing whether a vehicle should be considered capable of travelling autonomously and safely, with the overriding objectives being that:
- any automated vehicle which is authorised to operate on the roads will achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or higher than, that of careful and competent human drivers; and
- road safety will be better as a result of the use of automated vehicles on the roads than it would otherwise be.
The draft statement proposes 10 key principles which any automated vehicle would be required to meet in order to be considered for authorisation to operate on the roads:
- Self-driving vehicles should use the road in accordance with traffic laws and the Highway Code
- Self-driving vehicles should comply with road traffic laws, speed limits, signage, road markings and any temporary restrictions such as roadworks or diversions.
- Self-driving vehicles should maintain control over the vehicle at all times.
- This includes performing the driving task smoothly, safely and in a stable manner, including during unexpected events or rapidly changing conditions.
- Self-driving vehicles should predict, detect and respond to hazards proactively
- This includes predicting and detecting potential or existing hazards and taking safe, timely and contextually appropriate action to avoid or minimise harm.
- Self-driving vehicles should adapt driving to road and weather conditions.
- This includes recognising the conditions of the road and weather and adjusting its driving strategy accordingly, to reflect the environment and maintain safe margins.
- Self-driving vehicles should behave in a predictable manner
- This includes behaving in a way other road users understand and communicating its intentions through appropriate signals to other road users clearly.
- Self-driving vehicles should improve road safety in Great Britain for all
- This includes seeking to minimise risk to its occupants and other road users, avoiding any disproportionate increase in risk to any group of road users. When safety risks occur, the self-driving vehicle should seek to minimise the potential for harm.
- Self-driving vehicles should interact safely with all road users, particularly vulnerable road users.
- This includes, though is not limited to, being considerate around pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, children, older adults and disabled people more at risk.
- Self-driving vehicles should interact safely with emergency services
- This includes detecting and responding safely to instructions from emergency services and other authorised officials.
- Self-driving vehicles should only operate autonomously within the limits under which they are specifically designed to function.
- This means recognising its limits (including the capability of the automated driving system to perform the driving task) and having appropriate strategies in place to respond where there is a risk that a vehicle may exceed those limits.
- Self-driving vehicles should be designed to take account of the specificities of the territory where they will operate
- This includes when considering whether a vehicle travels safely by means of comparisons to human drivers or using data derived from human drivers, such data and comparisons should be:
- representative of comparable locations and circumstances; and
- sufficiently representative of GB drivers who are unimpaired, not distracted and follow traffic rules.
- This includes when considering whether a vehicle travels safely by means of comparisons to human drivers or using data derived from human drivers, such data and comparisons should be:
Whilst these principles seem common sense and difficult to object to in principle, as part of its consultation the government is inviting interested parties to confirm not only whether they agree or disagree with the inclusion of these principles in the finalised statement but also to propose any comments, including textual amendments, thereby providing manufacturers and developers of automated vehicles and other interested parties (such as insurers) with an important opportunity to help shape the regulatory requirements which they will be required to comply with in order to launch self-driving vehicles in Great Britain. Responses must be submitted by no later than 11:59 p.m. on 9 September 2026.
In addition to a top-tier intellectual property and technology team, Squire Patton Boggs has a leading public policy practice which assists clients in responding to government consultations such as these. For more information contact Simon Jones.
