New BSI white paper on UK self-driving legislation and good practice
Best known for its Kitemark scheme, the British Standards Institution (BSI) has published a helpful review of UK self-driving legislation and good practice.
The June 2022 white paper “Connected and automated vehicles: A review of the UK’s legislation and good practice” was written by Lucy Pegler, Partner at law firm Burges Salmon and technical co-author of the PAS 1882 standard.
Exec summary
The stated purpose of the publication is to assist those developing, trialling, testing and deploying CAVs in the UK. In particular, it provides guidance on the interrelationship between the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles’ Code of Practice (CCAV CoP), BSI’s own CAV Standards Programme and current legislative requirements.
The executive summary consists of a diagram explaining what’s legally binding and what’s only advised.
CCAV CoP
On the CCAV CoP, the white paper notes that: a) A driver must be present, in or out of the vehicle, who is ready, able, and willing to resume control of the vehicle; b) The vehicle must be roadworthy; and c) There must be appropriate insurance in place.
Top of the list under “aims and objectives” is increasing public confidence.
BSI CAV Standards
On the BSI CAV Standards Programme, it notes that: “BSI have developed and published a number of standards relating to CAVs with the aim of providing a set of industry standards.” These include:
PAS 1880 on the design guidelines for developing CAV control systems.
PAS 1881 on the requirements for operational safety cases.
PAS 1882 on the collection, curation, storage and sharing of information during CAV trials.
PAS 1883 on defining operational design domains (ODD).
PAS 1884 on the requirements for the use of a safety operator.
PAS 1885 on protections against cyber security threats.
BSI Flex 1890 – the CAV vocabulary – on consistency of terminology.
Self-driving law
Section 5 covers The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission’s review of the legal framework for automated vehicles, plus relevant rules under the following:
The Road Traffic Act 1988
The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986
The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999
The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The UK General Data Protection Regulation
It reiterates once again UK Government’s controversial plan “to list ALKS models as automated vehicles from 2022” and highlights the Law Commissions’ recommendation that automated vehicles must be able to record and store data necessary for incident investigation.
Conclusion
The conclusion concludes: “Adopting the recommended good practice in the PAS standards supports trialling organizations compliance with current legislation and may support preparation for compliance with a future automated vehicles act enshrining the Law Commissions’ recommendations.”
To request a free copy of the BSI white paper, please click here.