The UK government changed its rules about driverless cars and wants to ‘fast track’ pilots of self-driving taxi and bus-like services.

The government was originally aiming to introduce these cars to British roads in 2026, then the date was changed to the second half of 2027. The government now says it is introducing an accelerated framework for small autonomous ‘bus and taxi like commercial services earlier.

The British National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) is not happy with this decision and expresses its concerns: the Government’s proposal to ‘fast track’ pilots of self-driving taxi and bus-like services could risk compromising motorcycle safety unless the Autonomous Vehicles Act and its key ‘Statement of Safety Principles’ is fully implemented first.

In a further announcement, the Department for Transport (DfT) launched a ‘call for evidence on the statement of safety principles which will consider the safety outcomes that should be sought by self-driving vehicles. DfT say that: ‘Public confidence in the safety of these vehicles will be essential to take advantage of the huge economic opportunities they will present. The AV Act specifies that the safety principles must be framed with a view to securing that authorised AVs achieve a safety level equal to or higher than careful and competent human drivers and that road safety in Great Britain will improve due to the presence of these vehicles.’

Although further consultations are planned subsequent to the call for evidence, the NMC is concerned that the announcement regarding driverless cars seems particularly focussed on a claimed potential for economic growth, with the key elements around safety for motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users potentially at risk of being ‘rushed’ in the desire to deliver driverless public services.

The NMC has already published its position on what the Statement of Safety Principles under the Act should include. The position was prepared for the NMC by the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) and has been submitted to the Government as part of its ongoing dialogue and regular meetings with government officials working in the AV Act’s implementation. Meetings were also held with the then Secretary of State during the Act’s progress through Parliament.

The NMC cannot support the introduction of automated vehicles on UK roads unless it is clear that such vehicles will not increase risk to any other road user, especially vulnerable road users. In particular, any automated vehicle must always be capable of correctly identifying and responding to motorcycles, whose riders regularly change lanes and position on the road whilst completing overtaking and filtering manoeuvres. Automated vehicles must also be able to detect low-impact collisions on any part of the vehicle and be able to ‘see’ motorcycles at junctions.

NMC Executive Director Craig Carey-Clinch said: “It is essential that the Government gets this right. A thirst for growth cannot come before safety, particularly for the most vulnerable on the UK’s roads and ‘fast tracking’ inevitably means compromises. We urge the Transport Secretary to carefully consider her next steps and not fast track pilots before the Statement of Safety Principles is fully developed and implemented to a proper timescale under the AV Act.

“The NMC urges the Government to not repeat the mistake of the previous administration in relation to eScoots. In an enthusiasm to embrace these products via hire schemes, the Government ended up creating the unintended consequence of unleashing a tidal wave of illegally used and in many cases poorly designed privately used eScoots onto the roads. The subsequent and still growing concerns about the impact on road safety is an area that the Government has still to address.”

Source: NMC

Top image courtesy of Bosch

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