Automated Vehicles Act 2024 – One Year On

Implementing the umbrella scheme for AVs on public roads

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (AVA 2024) received Royal Assent on 20 May 2024, before the General Election last year of 4 July.

While the AVA 2024 provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles in Great Britain, almost all of its provisions are to be brought in by secondary legislation and, in some respects, consultations and guidance are expected. Only Part 7 (General Provision) came into force on the day the AVA 2024 was passed. The rest remains with status not yet in force.

Earlier this year, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) released a guidance document entitled ‘Automated Vehicles Act implementation programme’ (February 2025). This AVA Implementation Programme sets out the programme (launched in 2024) for the safe deployment of automated vehicles (AVs) on roads in Great Britain and implementing the AVA 2024.

In this blog we explore the AVA Implementation Programme, along with other recent indications that change is on the way. First, we provide a brief recap of some of the key concepts, regulated bodies, and liability shifts under the AVA 2024.

A brief recap of the AVA 2024

Set out below are just some of the definitions to be aware of and implications to consider under the AVA 2024’s umbrella scheme, although the provisions are not yet in force. First, two definitions.

A vehicle travels autonomously…

Section 1(5) reads:

‘Basic concepts

…

(5)  A vehicle travels “autonomously” if—

• (a)  it is being controlled not by an individual but by equipment of the vehicle, and
• (b)  neither the vehicle nor its surroundings are being monitored by an individual with a view to immediate intervention in the driving of the vehicle’.

A ‘user-in-charge’ (UiC)

A key concept is that of a UiC, defined in Section 46:

‘Meaning of “user-in-charge”

An individual is the “user-in-charge” of a vehicle if—

• (a)  the vehicle is an authorised automated vehicle with an authorised user-in-charge feature,
• (b)  that feature is engaged, and
• (c)  the individual is in, and in position to exercise control of, the vehicle, but is not controlling it’.

Regulatory scheme for automated vehicles

The overarching regulatory scheme for automated vehicles in set out in Part 1 of the AVA 2024.

Chapter 1 (Authorisation of road vehicles for automated use) includes provisions on, for example:

• a statement of safety principles,
• authorised automation features, and
• authorised self-driving entities (ASDEs).

Statement of safety principles

The statement of principles is for the Secretary of State to prepare (Section 2). Key to this is Section 2(2):

‘The principles must be framed with a view to securing that—

• (a)  authorised automated vehicles will achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or higher than, that of careful and competent human drivers, and
• (b)  road safety in Great Britain will be better as a result of the use of authorised automated vehicles on roads than it would otherwise be’.

Authorised automation features

The feature(s) by virtue of which the vehicle satisfies the self-driving test must be identified in an automated vehicle authorisation (Section 4(1)).

The mode of operation of the feature is to be specified as UiC or ‘no-user-in-charge’ (NUiC) (Section 4(3)(a)). From the AVA 2024 explanatory memorandum:

• ‘A UiC feature is one that can drive itself for only part of a journey and therefore requires an individual to be a driver for the remainder of the journey, for example a motorway chauffeur system’.
• ‘A NUiC feature is one that can drive itself for an entire journey and does not require an individual to be capable of taking control, for example a self-driving airport shuttle bus’.

Also to be specified, how the feature is engaged / disengaged (Section 4(3)(b)), and the locations and circumstances by reference to which the vehicle satisfies the self-driving test by virtue of the feature (Section 4(3)(c)).

ASDEs

• Each authorised automated vehicle must have an ASDE that is responsible for the way the vehicle drives and for meeting other regulatory obligations (Section 6).
• Identity of the ASDE for each authorised automated vehicle to be published on a register (Section 10(3)).

Chapter 2 (Licensing of operators for vehicle use without user-in-charge) is concerned with NUiC vehicles. With a NUiC feature, the vehicle could travel empty or with only freight or passengers.

Licensed NUiC operators

In addition to having an ASDE, these vehicles must also be overseen by a licensed NUiC operator (Section 12).

Criminal liability for vehicle use

Part 2 of the AVA 2024 addresses the criminal liability for vehicle use. For example, a UiC may claim an immunity for offences arising from the way the vehicle is driven in certain circumstances where an authorised automated feature is engaged (Sections 47 and 48). Instead, the ASDE (e.g., the manufacturer) is primarily responsible for the offences.

Implementation of the AVA 2024

Having outlined just a few of the provisions of the regulatory framework, we now turn to look at its implementation.

The CCAV

The CCAV is part of the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). On its About page, the CCAV is described as, ‘the hub for all things automated driving in the UK government’. Read more about the CCAV here.

The AVA Implementation Programme:

‘…is responsible for carrying out the full policy, legislative and operational programme to implement the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 in 2027’.

Organisations involved in jointly delivering this programme, besides the CCAV, the DfT and the DBT, are the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Vehicle Certification Agency, and National Highways.

For some of the earlier background on recommendations for legal reform around AVs, see the joint report of the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission (published 26 January 2022). Read the joint report here.

Objectives of the AVA Implementation Programme

The AVA Implementation Programme has three themes:

• deployment,
• in-use regulation, and
• international and building capability.

Each theme has associated CCAV objectives.

• Deployment includes producing secondary legislation and guidance, and protecting consumers by ensuring only vehicles that are authorised as automated can be marketed as such.
• In-use regulation relates to supporting the safe trialling of prototype AVs on the roads, and developing/adapting rules on the safe use of AVs e.g., through the Highway Code.
• International and building capability involves, amongst other objectives, ensuring that within Government there are ‘the skills, capabilities and access to assets to deliver safe and secure use of AVs’, and, in relation to enabling global exports, the CCAV plays ‘a leading role in work to harmonise international rules on self-driving’.

Other indications that change is on the way

Cyber security of consumer connectable products

While AVs are an important part of the ‘internet of things’, and thereby raise associated concerns about connectable product security, automotive vehicles have recently been exempted from the UK’s Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) regime (the PSTI regime came into force on 29 April 2024)[1]. The automotive vehicles exemption to the PSTI regime can be found in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (Security Requirements for Relevant Connectable Products) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025 / 211) (Amendment Regulations). This statutory instrument came into force on 25 February 2025. Government guidance on the PSTI regime for manufacturers, importers and distributors was accordingly updated on 17 March 2025, to clarify that certain categories of vehicle are exempt. Read the guidance on Regulations: consumer connectable product security here.

The overview within the explanatory memorandum to the Amendment Regulations specifically mentions cyber security (at paragraph 4):

‘This instrument will ensure that undue burden is not placed on the industry linked to those products, as the government intends to bring forth sector specific regulatory frameworks to address the cyber security of certain vehicles’.

Regaining situational awareness

The AVA Implementation Programme mentions that the CCAV will work with experts from academia and industry. Earlier this year the DfT published (9 January 2025) a paper reporting on a research study (97 participants in driving simulators):

‘This project explores the transition from self-driving technology to human-operated driving, particularly focusing on the role of the UiC, who must be ready to take control when the automated system issues a takeover request’.

The summary continues, ‘A takeover request occurs when the automated driving system encounters emergencies or conditions outside its programming. The UiC receives the takeover request via visual, auditory, or haptic cues’.

Read the study about regaining situational awareness here.

Trialling of connected and automated vehicles

The AVA Implementation Programme states that:

‘Safe trialling of the technology and developing use cases is an essential part of the path to implementation’.

Indeed, one of the CCAV’s stated objectives includes ensuring that ‘the UK is the trialling destination of choice for industry’.

In relation to trialling, there are two Codes of Practice:

• ‘Code of Practice: automated vehicle trialling’ which acknowledges ‘the growing appetite to test and trial automated vehicle technologies and services in the UK’, and
• ‘Code of Practice: vehicle authorisations and exemptions for more complex CAV trials’.

Read both Codes of Practice here.

By way of example of recent reference to the UK Government guidance on automated vehicle trialling, both Codes are cited in Transport for London’s ‘Connected and Automated Vehicles: guidance for London trials’ (January 2025).

Read TfL’s guidance for London trials and a list of previous trials here.

AVs as part of AI in the physical world

AVs rely on various technologies in combination, including artificial intelligence (AI). The AI Opportunities Action Plan (an independent report published 13 January 2025, the same day as the Government’s response to it) twice mentions ‘automated vehicles’.

There is a reference within the Action Plan to Wayve (the autonomous vehicle company), given as an example of ‘emerging local winners’ amongst AI companies in London. And, as something the Government is recommended to do (in paragraph 27, under the heading ‘Enabling safe and trusted AI development and adoption through regulation, safety and assurance’):

‘Work with regulators to accelerate AI in priority sectors and implement pro-innovation initiatives like regulatory sandboxes. These should be targeted in areas with regulatory challenges but high-growth potential, such as products which integrate AI into the physical world like autonomous vehicles, drones and robotics’.

Read the AI Opportunities Action Plan here.

Taking the opportunity

While noting that the provisions of the AVA 2024 are not yet in force, we have taken the opportunity, one year on from this regulatory framework having received Royal Assent, to provide a brief recap of concepts, regulated bodies, and liability shifts within the legislation.

We have explored the AVA Implementation Programme and wait to see how the CCAV will address the three themes, namely ‘deployment’, ‘in-use regulation’, and ‘international and building capability’, with their associated objectives.

We have also provided a flavour of where else, in recent months, we have come across reference to AVs becoming part of our day to day lives, be that in relation to the cyber security of AVs, research on UiCs regaining control of automated systems, the trialling of AVs on our roads, and AVs being provided as an example of a product which integrates AI into the physical world around us.

Finally, while the UK has enacted the regulatory framework of the AVA 2024, the approach to AVs taken in the EU has differed, with quite a few regulations potentially applying, one of which is the EU AI Act (in force 1 August 2024) – a blog for another day!

Our experienced team of technology solicitors can support you if you would like to learn more about the evolving AV regulatory landscape.

[1] The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 and the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (Security Requirements for Relevant Connectable Products) Regulations 2023.