Connected and autonomous vehicles

A Westminster Hall debate on Connected and Automated Vehicles is scheduled for Tuesday 28 October 2025, from 2:30pm to 4:00pm. The debate will be led by Sarah Coombes MP (Labour).

What are Connected and Automated Vehicles?

An “Automated Vehicle” (AV) is the legal term for what are more commonly referred to as “driverless”, “self-driving”, “autonomous” and “connected and autonomous” vehicles.

Under the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, a vehicle will be an “authorised automated vehicle” if it satisfies the “self-driving test”. The test will be satisfied if the vehicle is able to travel autonomously and can do so safely and legally.

The government’s work in implementing AVs has been led by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), established in 2015.

Key legislation

The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 was the first legislation which directly addressed AVs. It established that if a fault in a self-driving car resulted in an accident, then the insurer would automatically be responsible for compensating the victim, rather than the vehicle’s passenger.

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 establishes the foundation of a self-driving safety framework in Great Britain. The act was developed from recommendations made to the government from the Law Commission.

Government policy

The government’s Industrial Strategy, published in June 2025, establishes its commitment to making AVs commercially viable. Actions proposed to achieve this include working to harmonise international regulations on self-driving and enabling pilots of self-driving vehicles by Spring 2026.

Pilot schemes

The government has been supporting public and private trials of self-driving vehicles since 2015, including shuttles and urban delivery, and by supporting the software needed to enable these services.

In June 2025, the government confirmed that from Spring 2026, commercial firms would be able to pilot self-driving vehicles on England’s roads without a safety driver, for the first time. Recent media reports indicate that taxi companies like Uber and Waymo have expressed their intention to pilot the use of such taxis in London.

Opportunities and challenges

The government has highlighted the potential benefits of introducing driverless vehicles. These include increasing road safety, by reducing accidents caused by human error, and producing up to 38,000 jobs.

The risks of deploying AVs include vehicles’ vulnerability to cyber-attacks, the health implications of a declining use of active transport, and possible job losses drivers in road transport roles.