Autonomous Vehicles and the Law

Law Academics visit the Department for Transports' Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

Just one week after the release of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, and on the same day that the Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons, Exeter Law School Academics Matthew Channon and Dr Kyriaki Noussia visited the Department for Transport's Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) at the Department for Transport in London.

The CCAV drafted the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill to regulate, amongst other things, the insurance of Autonomous Vehicles. Mr Channon and Dr Kyriaki, along with Barrister Lucy McCormick from Henderson Chambers, visited the CCAV to discuss the new Bill in a mutual exchange of ideas regarding insurance, liability, testing and security.

Both academics are interested in the Law of Autonomous Vehicles and are in the process of co-authoring a book on 'The Law and Driverless Cars' with Ms McCormick. The book is due to be released next year with a focus on key areas of the law including insurance, liability and cyber security. The discussion was particularly useful to gain some clarification with regards to the new Bill and reasons behind it. It further gave the co-authors the opportunity to provide information as to particular complications which may be faced, along with potential solutions to regulation.

Date: 1 November 2017