Overview
As a cross-modal organisation, PACTS recognises that the implications of automation extend across the transport system. However, that potential will only be realised if the deployment of automated transport systems is conducted in a manner that prioritises safety, benefits all users, and leads to a more sustainable, equitable, and efficient transport system.
The Automated Vehicles (AV) Act was introduced in 2024 and marked the beginning of a significant evolution of [ADD IN road] transport in the United Kingdom. PACTS welcomed the legislation, recognising the potential it creates to significantly reduce road risk in the UK and to support wider advances in transport automation. PACTS continues to urge the Government to commit to continuing to work with all stakeholders to ensure that those benefits materialise as secondary legislation is passed. This is a position that is firmly held by PACTS and guides its work in automated transport policy and regulation.
By adhering to the principles of rigorous testing, continuous learning, and transparency, PACTS believes automated transport technologies can make a positive contribution to our wide transport safety goals.
The purpose of this page is to provide a background to the AV Act, situated within the wider automated transport landscape, to provide a hub for PACTS’ publications including submissions to consultations and calls for evidence published by the Government on themes related to automated transport deployment, and provides links to PACTS’ research on this theme.
The Automated Vehicles (AV) Act
The Automated Vehicles Act is designed as framework legislation, aimed at establishing high-level principles and powers for the UK Government to make regulations in the future. Amongst other things, it provides for a new authorisation regime under which self-driving vehicles would have to pass a “self-driving test” and satisfy a range of safety standards before they could be used on UK roads.
This Act, reflecting four years of meticulous review and proposals from the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission, sets a foundation for rigorous regulatory frameworks that will ensure the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles.
The Act sets out Government powers to adapt existing type-approval regulations to set specific vehicle safety standards for self-driving vehicles and establish licensing schemes for wholly automated vehicle journeys. It also provides the Government with regulatory and enforcement powers – including the ability to conduct broad investigations if a self-driving car is found to be involved in a road traffic incident.
This Act represents a forward-thinking approach to integrating automated vehicles into the UK’s transport ecosystem. By setting high safety standards, emphasizing the importance of data sharing and transparency, and ensuring improvements in safety for all road users, the Act lays the groundwork for a future where automated vehicles contribute positively to our road safety objectives.
The Automated Vehicles Act Implementation Programme was launched in 2024 to secure the safe deployment of automated vehicles (AVs) on roads in Great Britain. It is responsible for carrying out the full policy, legislative and operational programme to implement the Act.
Anticipated secondary legislation includes:
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- Call for evidence on Main Regulations
- Consultation on Safety Principles, and a Commencement Statutory Instrument
- Misleading Marketing Statutory Instrument
- Final draft of UN ADS Regulations
- Consultation on Main Regulations
- Safety Principles published, and UN ADS Regulations come into force
- Automated Vehicles main Statutory Instrument and Monetary Penalties Statutory Instrument
PACTS’ role and publications
PACTS is playing an important role in the implementation of the AV Act. Involvement includes responding to Government consultations on elements of the Act and the publication of reports, briefings and thought pieces on automation. Margaret Winchcomb, the Deputy Executive Director at PACTS, also sits on the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Expert Advisory Panel. A summary of PACTS’ work on AV’s is provided in the table below:
| Date | Publication | Details |
|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | Understanding the Statement of Safety Principles Roundtable | PACTS convened a cross-sector roundtable to consider the Government’s proposed Statement of Safety Principles for automated vehicles. The discussion brought together representatives from government, academia, industry, insurers, local authorities and road safety organisations to examine whether the proposed principles provide a strong foundation for the safe deployment of automated vehicles. |
| March 2026 | Herman De Croo Lecture – What does it mean to be a good or a bad driver? | The 2026 Herman De Croo Lecture, delivered by Dr Nick Reed, will explore the practical implications of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, the Safe System approach, serious collision insights and the interaction between future mobility technologies and human behaviour. |
| September 2025 | Automated Vehicles – Automated Passenger Services (APS) Permitting Scheme – a consultation | Consultation on the Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme. A scheme that will provide the legal route to deploying commercial passenger services with no human driver onto British roads. |
| August 2025 | Automated Vehicles – Statement of Safety Principles – a call for evidence | Call for evidence seeking views on what safety standards should be sought for automated (self-driving) vehicles in the UK. |
| August 2025 | Automated Vehicles – Protecting Marketing Terms – a consultation | Consultation seeking views on protecting the use of certain terms in vehicle marketing so they can only be used for authorised automated (self-driving) vehicles. |
| July 2025 | CCAV presentation – PACTS Council of Members meeting | Representatives from the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles attended the July PACTS Council of Members meeting to discuss progress on the implementation of the AV Act. |
| July 2025 | IMechE sets out challenges and opportunities of safe transport automation | PACTS supported the roundtable, which explored how automation can be safely applied to transport systems, beyond vehicle control, to include their design, maintenance and operation. |
| December 2024 | Automation for a safer world: new approach needed as boundaries blur between human and machine | PACTS supported the organisation of the Thomas Hawksley Lecture, focusing on the safety implications of human-automation interaction and the development of autonomous vehicles. |
| May 2024 | Welcoming the Automated Vehicles Act | Briefing paper welcoming the Automated Vehicles Act and discussing its implications, prepared by the PACTS Vehicle Design Working Party |
| September 2023 | Acute and chronic effects of long-term exposure to automated control systems in road vehicles | Briefing paper prepared by the PACTS Road User Behaviour Working Party bringing focus to the risks of overreliance on automation and proposing ways to mitigate them. |
| October 2022 | Transport Select Committee Self-Driving Vehicle Inquiry | PACTS submission to a Transport Select Committee inquiry into self-driving vehicles |
| October 2022 | Consultation on safety standards for self-driving vehicles | PACTS response to Government consultation on safety standards for self-driving vehicles |
| September 2022 | Law Commission consultation on remote driving | PACTS responded to this Law Commission consultation after thorough meetings and deliberation with its members focusing on the safety challenges of remote driving. |
| February 2019 | Principles for Law Commission review of legal framework for automated vehicles | PACTS provided overall principles for policy on AV’s which were formative in preparation for the AV Bill and then Act |
Further reading
The following links, which are external to PACTS, provide useful information and further reading about the development of automated vehicles and recommendations for legislation to regulate them:
Understanding Legislative Processes
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- Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles – GOV.UK -The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) founded in 2015 and the hub for all things automated driving in the UK government
Understanding Terminology
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- CAM Vocabulary v6.0 – CAM Standards Hub – The reference for all terminology, developed with industry and academia and funded by CCAV and BSI
- SAE International | Advancing mobility knowledge and solutions – The Globally recognised standard for the 6-level classification of automation: (0–5) distinguishing driver assistance (0–2) from automated driving (3–5)
Understanding safety
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- Insights into the complex landscape of automated passenger services by PACTS members TRL: TRL | Automated Passenger Services: Researching Driver Roles and Passenger Inclusivity
- Key requirements for the motor insurance industry regarding automated vehicles, providing guidance to government, regulators, and manufacturers to ensure safety and consumer protection; produced by PACTS members: Thatcham Research and ABI : 2024: Insurer Requirements for Automated Vehicles
- A piece setting the scene on how innovative methods of demonstrating safety and reliability are needed for automated vehicles, and how it is imperative that autonomous vehicle regulations are adaptive to evolve with the technology Driving to Safety: How Many Miles of Driving Would It Take to Demonstrate Autonomous Vehicle Reliability? | RAND
- A study exploring how the names of SAE Level 2 driving automation systems influence drivers’ perceptions of safe use, highlighting that names like “Autopilot” can lead to overestimation of system capabilities: Teoh, Eric R. (2019): What’s in a name? Drivers’ perceptions of the use of five SAE Level 2 driving automation systems
- A comprehensive review of the potential impacts of automated vehicles on physical road infrastructure, identifying key considerations for safe deployment and future planning: Tengilimoglu, Oguz, Carsten, Oliver & Wadud, Zia (2023): Implications of automated vehicles for physical road environment: A comprehensive review
- A conceptual framework to assess the readiness of road networks for highly automated vehicles (Level 4), applied to a case study in Leeds: Tengilimoglu, Oguz, Carsten, Oliver & Wadud, Zia (2024): Are current roads ready for highly automated driving? A conceptual model for road readiness for AVs applied to the UK city of Leeds
