New laws introduced into Parliament will “put safety at the heart of the roll-out of self-driving vehicle technology,” the UK government has said.

As announced in the recent King’s Speech, the aim of the the government’s Automated Vehicles (AV) Bill is to deliver one of the most comprehensive legal frameworks of its kind for self-driving vehicles.

The Bill will set the safety threshold for self-driving vehicles in law, lay out clear liability for the user, and establish an in-use regulatory scheme to monitor the ongoing safety of these vehicles.

Specifically, all self-driving vehicles will be required to undergo robust safety testing before they are permitted to drive on UK roads. Companies will also have ongoing obligations to keep their vehicles safe and ensure that they continue to drive in accordance with British laws.

Regarding the important matter of legal liability, every authorised self-driving vehicle will have a corresponding Authorised Self-Driving Entity – often the manufacturer – which will be responsible for the behaviour of the vehicle when self-driving. This will protect “users from being unfairly held accountable,” said the government.

The Bill will also prohibit misleading market practices, including around using ambiguous terminology in advertising material around whether their vehicles classify as self driving. Regulations under the Bill will set out specific terminology and symbols which will be reserved for marketing authorised self-driving vehicles. Unauthorised and improper use of this terminology will be against the law and a criminal offence.

The laws implement recommendations of the review of self-driving vehicle regulation, carried out by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission. The review brings together over 4 years of legal work, 3 rounds of public consultation, and hundreds of responses from a range of organisations and individuals.

The Bill comes amid wider government funding and support for trials of self-driving technologies in the UK, like the £66 million Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility fund. The fund is helping support 20 projects in nearly 50 organisations to develop prototype passenger and logistics self-driving services.

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Transport secretary, Mark Harper, said: “Our new Bill ensures safety is at the heart of our plans to see self-driving vehicles on our roads, making the UK a great place to develop this technology.

“We have the opportunity to put the UK at the forefront of a fast-growing, multi-billion-pound industry by providing the clarity and certainty for business to develop and invest in this exciting technology.

Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve, a company “pioneering an AI-centric approach to self-driving,” also commented: “By setting out a clear path to commercialisation, new primary legislation for self-driving vehicles gives us the confidence to continue investing in research and development and growing our talent base here in the UK.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the government to cement the UK’s role as a global centre of excellence for self-driving technology that will make our roads safer and unlock new growth.”