Getting safety ‘right’ before automated vehicles (AVs), and their operating systems, are approved for road use and ensuring ongoing in-use safety are key goals in defining the necessary regulatory framework for AV deployment.
Both are at the heart of the latest development from the government, this being a call for evidence issued on 4 December 2025 and open for responses until 5 March 2026. The new document is divided into two chapters covering each of these key goals and a series of associated technical matters summarised (non-exhaustively) below.
All are significant and important issues. The description, at a recent motor insurance market meeting, of the call for evidence as a “mega-consultation” is far from an understatement. This “mega-consultation” label is reinforced by the government’s document running to 79 pages and asking 125 questions.
Chapter 1: “Getting AVs on the Road”
-
Type Approval: AVs will be required to meet technical and safety standards aligned with international (UNECE) regulations.
-
Authorisation requirements: These will ensure AVs can operate safely and legally without a driver. Each AV must be backed by an Authorised Self-Driving Entity (ASDE) responsible for safety and regulatory compliance throughout its lifecycle. ASDEs will be subject to authorisation requirements.
- User-in-Charge (UIC): This refers to the ‘disengaged driver’ while the AV is driving itself. The requirements here will define the UIC’s responsibilities, including transition demands and training requirements.
- No-User-in-Charge (NUIC) Licensing: Conditions will regulate operators running passenger services using vehicles without onboard safety ‘drivers’. Fully autonomous buses and smaller pod-style vehicles are typical use cases.
- Insurance and data access: Existing legislation requires motor insurers to cover both conventional and automated driving. The call for evidence focuses on key questions around access to data stored in the vehicle’s Automated Driving System (ADS) to enable claims adjusting and subrogated actions by motor insurers.
Chapter 2: “Once AVs Are on the Road”
-
In-Use Regulatory Scheme (IURS): Requirements here will provide ongoing oversight and compliance monitoring – in respect of the ADS, with the keeper remaining responsible for general roadworthiness – and allow for enforcement via civil and regulatory sanctions.
-
Incident Investigation: Independent statutory inspectors will investigate AV-related incidents under a no-blame framework to improve road safety. This activity could be closely modelled on that of the existing rail and maritime investigation branches.
- Cyber Security: Requirements will be developed to align with UN Regulations 155 and 156, addressing risks from connectivity and remote operations. Given that thousands of connected vehicles are already on the roads – although they are all conventional vehicles – it follows that some of the potentially systemic cyber risks arising from vehicle connectivity are already present in the current driving eco-system. Whether these are fully understood / evaluated is another matter.
- Accessibility & Environment: Seeks evidence on inclusive design and environmental impacts, including end-of-life considerations.
What happens next?
The call for evidence runs (following consultations in the summer as analysed here) until 5 March 2026, inviting responses from industry stakeholders – which will of course include insurers and vehicle manufacturers – academics, road users, and accessibility groups. The responses received will inform future regulations to ensure the regulatory regime legal governing AV deployment is safe, equitable, and sustainable.
The government has already referred to the necessary secondary regulations on matters set out in chapters 1 & 2 as the “main regs” for automated driving. All these “main regs” will be made under powers set out in the Automated Vehicle Act 2024.
An AV timetable released by government earlier in the year envisaged the call for evidence on these “main regs” concluding by the end of 2025, with the next step towards implementing the “main regs” being a consultation on draft provisions in the second half of next year. This still feels like a realistic timetable despite the call for evidence emerging perhaps later than initially planned.
Initial concluding thoughts
The issues covered here are important for insurers interested in the development of AVs. That is not just all motor insurers – because cover for automated driving will be compulsory – but also casualty carriers offering product liability and cyber-related policies to manufacturers and software developers who will potentially be the ASDEs in the new regulatory framework.
The approach to access to data by insurers could be among the most controversial points. The way forward, whether mandatory or otherwise, will require a careful balance of the interests of insurers and the importance to manufacturers of commercial confidentiality as well as respecting data protection principles.
The purpose of this article is only to provide a high-level summary and we propose to address the detail of the chapters in further articles and events. Please contact any of the authors or your usual Clyde & Co contacts if you would like further information.