Parliamentarians are being urged to back the Automated Vehicles Bill and ensure its swift passage into law to reap the safety and economic benefits of self-driving cars and public transport services.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that the tech could save an additional 3,200 lives and prevent 53,000 serious accidents from now until 2040, and also provide a £38 billion economic boost — but only if the Bill is enacted without delay.

Even if the current timetable is met, following the Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons in early March, it’s unlikely that self-driving vehicles will be on British roads until at least 2026, the industry body noted. If the legislation is delayed until after the general election, the date could be nearer 2030.

While the UK has a firm foundation for automated vehicles thanks to government and industry jointly investing more than £600 million in self-driving trials since 2015, the EU and US already have regulatory frameworks in place and deployed the technology on public roads.

Speaking on this, the SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes said at the industry body’s Connected 2024 event today: “Backing the AV Bill now is fundamental if Britain is to not only develop but deploy self-driving passenger cars and services.

“We have the foundations, but other major markets are stealing a march, with regulation already in place allowing them to benefit from UK-developed self-driving tech that cannot be rolled out here.

“Any further delay risks leaving Britain in the slow lane, jeopardising our competitiveness and holding back the significant safety and economic rewards self-driving technology can deliver.”

Research commissioned by the SMMT and undertaken by YouGov found that nearly a third of UK adults (29%) would use an automated bus, shuttle, or taxi service if available today, with one in four (26%) likely to try self-driving features in a personal car — even though they’ve yet to experience the tech first-hand.

The survey also found that young people are even keener, with Gen Z (18-27 year-olds) almost twice (34%) as likely to try a personal car with self-driving features than Baby Boomers (60-78 year-olds).

Reduced stress of driving, safer journeys, and potentially lower insurance costs were listed as the top three benefits of a self-driving car.

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For self-driving passenger services such as a bus, shuttle, or taxi, consumers were most motivated by the prospect of lower fares, better availability in rural areas, and safer journeys.

Existing technologies, such as adaptive cruise control and park assist — the most popular advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) among survey respondents — are already helping roads to be safer.

Advanced emergency braking (AEB) technology, for instance, is available in eight-in-ten new cars, and has led to a 38% reduction in real world rear-end crashes, research has found.