The Automated Vehicles Bill is through the House of Lords and was introduced in the House of Commons on 20th February 2024. As the Bill has begun its passage through the House of Commons Automated Vehicles Bill [HL] – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament, the Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper, held a roundtable discussion about the Bill. This roundtable convened leaders in road safety advocacy in the UK and PACTS was a key party at this event. The aim of the discussion was to introduce the Bill, and how the provisions in the Bill will ensure road safety for all users.
Jamie Hassall, Executive Director for PACTS, says, “I was well briefed on the issue by Nick Reed, Richard Cuerden, and our own Kumar Niketan as we have been developing a briefing paper on this topic. I took the opportunity to flag that trust in the government was low around vehicle safety as the UK helped shape the General Safety Regs (GSR) but had not adopted them, and that GSR would help improve safety and reduce more road deaths in the short term and make the introduction of AVs safer. I also raised the need for the AV road safety investigation branch to include AV features on the current vehicle fleet and any near miss incidents so we are not waiting for a fatal incident to happen before action is taken. It was a positive meeting and the Secretary of State is keen to work with the group going forwards and has asked for written evidence to be submitted.”