Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018: An Evaluation in light of Proactive Law and Regulatory Disconnect

Abstract

The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (AEVA 2018) passed royal assent in July 2018 as the UK’s first piece of insurance legislation for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV). The legislation clearly only regulates vehicles of higher autonomy, that is vehicles which are ‘capable of…driving themselves’, interestingly these vehicles are currently not available on public roads, meaning that the legislation is predictive of future challenges. Moreover, the legislation is rather broad, with an absence of precise definitions or application, such breadth is clearly to ensure that the legislation remains connected to the technology at a later date. The UK has clearly been proactive in its approach, however concerns are evident around the fact that the UK, in its’ attempt to legislate ahead of the arrival of the technology, is likely to cause confusion due to the unclear nature of the AEVA 2018’s provisions. Both the issues of regulatory connection and proactive law are distinct areas of academic study which have not, as of yet been explored together in relation to a piece of legislation. The study of these issues in relation to the AEVA 2018 in this paper will further discuss the difficulty in balancing these. This paper will explore some of the insurance and liability difficulties with the current AEVA 2018. It will further uniquely discuss solutions to these challenges taking into account regulatory connection and proactive law.