Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to extend the scope of existing legislation on driving prohibitions to include principal occupants in autonomous vehicles.

The Government recognises that self-driving (sometimes referred to as autonomous) vehicles will challenge existing driving legislation, which was not designed with them in mind.

This is why the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles has asked the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission (the Law Commissions) to conduct a three-year review of driving legislation to prepare for the introduction of self-driving vehicles on UK roads, which includes extensive public consultation.

The Government is considering what legislative changes will be required to ensure the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles, informed by the Law Commissions’ project, which is due to complete in 2021.