TU-Automotive’s editor, Paul Myles, reports that “British lawyers are calling for automakers to shoulder unlimited legal responsibility for a driverless vehicle’s actions on the roads.”

Subsequently, drivers will become users-in-charge, absolving human drivers of any blame for the “vehicle’s driving tasks in the event of an accident or breach of any highway regulations. As reported by the BBC, the UK’s Law Commission was asked in 2018 to come up with a series of reports on the regulatory framework for automated vehicles and their use on public roads.”

While there is an ongoing discussion about connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) liability in terms of who or what is responsible whenever an accident occurs, in a telephone conversation with TU-Automotive, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) was keen to point out that there are currently no plans to make automakers 100% responsible for accidents caused by one of their vehicles in semi or fully autonomous mode.