This article is designed for general counsel, boards, fleet, procurement and operations teams considering automated cars, vans, HGVs or passenger vehicles. It sets out the key questions to ask before committing to a significant purchase or deployment.
Self-driving vehicles could change the economics, safety profile and operating model of commercial fleets. They also redistribute legal responsibility between the business operating the fleet, the person in the vehicle (if any), and the organisation responsible for the automated driving system.
The practical rule: do not buy based only on what the technology can do. Establish what it is legally authorised to do, who carries each responsibility, and what happens when something goes wrong.
Why this matters now
The UK now has a dedicated statutory framework for self-driving vehicles. The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 creates the structure for authorising vehicles as self-driving, allocating responsibility, licensing operations without a user in charge, regulating safety in use, and controlling how automated capability is marketed.
Much of the detailed regime will be delivered through secondary legislation and guidance. Government's implementation programme is targeting full implementation of the framework in 2027. Businesses making procurement decisions before then therefore need to consider both today's law and the rules that are coming.
The framework is relevant well beyond HGV operators. It may affect businesses operating vans, cars, buses, coaches and other commercial fleets. The starting regulatory position will differ by vehicle and activity: for example, an HGV operator may already hold a goods vehicle operator's licence, whereas a domestic light-van fleet will often sit outside that regime.
Three terms worth knowing
Term | In plain English |
|---|---|
ASDE | Authorised Self-Driving Entity: the organisation legally responsible for the automated driving system and its continuing compliance. |
User-in-Charge (UiC) | A person in the vehicle who is not responsible for how the vehicle drives while an authorised self-driving feature is engaged, but who may need to resume control when required. |
No User-in-Charge (NUiC) | Operation where no individual needs to be in a position to take over the driving. A licensed NUiC operator will have important operational responsibilities. |
How we got here: key dates
2018-2020 | Law Commission review
The Law Commission of England and Wales and Scottish Law Commission carried out three rounds of consultation on how the law should deal with automated vehicles.
26 January 2022 | Final Law Commission report
The Commissions published their joint report recommending a new legal framework covering authorisation, responsibility, ongoing safety, operators, liability, marketing and data.
2022 | Government safety policy
Government consulted on the safety ambition for self-driving vehicles, including the principle that they should achieve an equivalent level of safety to a competent and careful human driver.
November 2023 | Automated Vehicles Bill
The Bill was introduced to Parliament to implement the core recommendations of the Law Commissions.
20 May 2024 | Automated Vehicles Act 2024
The Act received Royal Assent. It establishes the main statutory framework for self-driving vehicles in Great Britain.
2024-2027 | Implementation programme
Government is developing the secondary legislation, guidance, authorisation processes and regulatory capability needed to make the regime operational.
2026 | Detailed rules taking shape
Consultation and implementation work is progressing, including the statement of safety principles and restrictions on misleading automated-vehicle marketing.
2027 | Target for full implementation
Government's published programme targets implementation of the full Automated Vehicles Act framework in 2027.
What this means for procurement today: contracts, operating models and investment decisions should allow for regulatory change. A deployment that is technically possible may not yet be legally available on the terms assumed by a supplier.
The ten-point checklist
Before buying or deploying self-driving vehicles at scale, work through these ten questions. The answers should be documented and owned by named people within the business.
1. Is it legally self-driving?
Do not rely on labels such as “autonomous”, “automated” or “driverless”. The legal regime distinguishes genuine self-driving capability from driver-assistance technology.
Ask:
What feature is said to be self-driving?
Has it been, or will it be, authorised under the UK regime?
Does the supplier's marketing accurately describe the legal status?
Risk: buying technology on the assumption that it can legally be used in a way that it cannot.
2. Exactly where and when can it drive itself?
Authorisation may be limited. A vehicle may be capable of automated driving only within particular roads, speeds, weather conditions or other operating conditions.
Ask:
What are the geographical and operational limits?
What happens if conditions move outside those limits?
Can the proposed routes and business model stay within them?
Opportunity: identify routes and operations where automation can deliver value without relying on capabilities outside the authorised use case.
3. Is the operation User-in-Charge or No User-in-Charge?
This is a fundamental distinction. UiC operation retains a person who may need to resume driving. NUiC operation does not require a person to be available to take control.
Ask:
Which model applies to each stage of the journey?
Can the vehicle switch between models?
Have responsibilities at handover points been mapped clearly?
Risk: assuming “self-driving” means the human has no continuing responsibilities.
4. Who is the ASDE?
The ASDE is the organisation legally responsible for the authorised automated driving system. It may be a manufacturer, technology provider or another organisation.
Ask:
Who will hold this role?
Is it financially and operationally robust?
What happens if it withdraws support, loses authorisation or becomes insolvent?
Who controls safety-critical software and updates?
Risk: becoming operationally dependent on a technology provider without adequate contractual protection or continuity planning.
5. If there is a User-in-Charge, what must that person still do?
A UiC is relieved of responsibility for the way the vehicle drives while the authorised self-driving feature is properly engaged, but does not cease to have responsibilities.
Ask:
When must the UiC be ready to resume control?
How will transition demands be handled?
What training and competence assessment will be required?
What activities will be permitted while automation is engaged?
Opportunity: automation may change the driver's role and improve productivity or safety, but only if the human-machine handover is managed properly.
6. If there is no User-in-Charge, who will be the licensed operator?
NUiC operation introduces a new operator role. Someone must take responsibility for important non-driving aspects of operating a vehicle that has no person available to take control.
Ask:
Will our business be the NUiC operator, or will a supplier provide an operated service?
What licensing, competence, financial standing and governance requirements will apply?
Who monitors vehicles and responds to problems during journeys?
Risk: taking on a regulated operator role without appreciating the governance, systems and resources it requires.
7. What existing rules still apply to our fleet?
Automation does not wipe away the rest of transport law. Existing regimes must be mapped against the new AV framework.
Ask:
HGVs: how does this interact with goods vehicle operator licensing and Traffic Commissioner oversight?
Vans: does the existing operation require an O-licence, and will NUiC operation introduce a new licensing relationship?
Passenger fleets: what PSV, taxi, private hire or passenger-service rules apply?
What health and safety, employment, insurance and roadworthiness duties remain?
Risk: concentrating on the new AV Act while overlooking existing obligations that continue to apply.
8. Who maintains the vehicle, sensors and software?
Roadworthiness will increasingly involve both physical and digital systems. A mechanically sound vehicle may still be unsafe if a sensor is obscured, a camera is miscalibrated or safety-critical software is out of date.
Ask:
Who checks sensors and automated-driving hardware?
Who decides whether an update is safety-critical?
Who installs and verifies updates?
What happens after repairs or replacement of sensors?
What records must be retained?
Opportunity: use procurement to create clear maintenance, support and service standards rather than resolving responsibility after a failure.
9. What happens when something goes wrong?
Test the operating model against a real incident: a vehicle stops unexpectedly, loses connectivity, suffers a cyberattack or is involved in a serious collision.
Ask:
Who receives the first alert?
Who can stop or restrict the fleet?
Who contacts emergency services, regulators, recovery providers and customers?
How are vehicles and data preserved for investigation?
Who leads the internal investigation?
Risk: a technically sophisticated fleet with no clear human decision-making structure when the unexpected happens.
10. Who carries the legal and financial risk?
Statutory responsibility is only part of the picture. A fleet operator may still suffer downtime, cargo loss, customer claims, regulatory investigation and reputational damage even where the underlying fault lies elsewhere.
Ask:
Do contracts contain appropriate warranties and indemnities?
Are liability caps appropriate for systemic software failures?
Who bears recall and business-interruption costs?
Do insurance arrangements reflect the new allocation of risk?
Can the business access the data needed to pursue or defend a claim?
Opportunity: procurement is the point at which the business has greatest leverage to allocate technology risk.
Before the board approves the investment
A board paper approving a material AV deployment should, at a minimum, be able to answer:
What are we buying, and what is its legal status?
Where and how are we legally permitted to use it?
Which legal roles will our business take on?
What licences and regulatory approvals will be required?
How will people be trained and the fleet supervised?
How will physical maintenance, software, data and cyber risk be managed?
What is the incident-response plan?
How have contractual liability and insurance been aligned with the risk?
What regulatory changes could affect the business case before deployment?
How Weightmans can help
Autonomous-vehicle deployment cuts across transport regulation, commercial contracts, technology, data, employment, health and safety, insurance and disputes. Weightmans can provide a joined-up team, with the transport regulatory team acting as a central point of coordination for fleet operators.
AV readiness and regulatory mapping
Review the proposed use case; identify whether it is UiC or NUiC; map the AV regime against existing fleet, operator-licensing and sector-specific obligations; and identify regulatory dependencies before investment.
Procurement and contracting
Support tenders and negotiations with manufacturers, ASDEs, software providers, maintenance providers and operating partners. Address warranties, service levels, software updates, data access, indemnities, liability caps, change in law and exit arrangements.
Licensing and regulatory engagement
Advise on existing goods and passenger vehicle operator licensing and the developing NUiC licensing regime, including the potential role of Traffic Commissioners and other regulators.
Governance, policies and training
Help boards and operational teams define responsibility, create policies, establish escalation arrangements and design training around safe deployment, transition demands and fleet oversight.
Technology, cyber and data
Address cyber resilience, connected-vehicle risk, data governance, privacy, contractual access to vehicle data and incident preparedness.
Incident response and investigations
Provide rapid legal support following serious collisions, system failures, cyber incidents or regulatory concerns, including evidence preservation, internal investigations and engagement with enforcement bodies.
Insurance, claims and disputes
Review risk allocation and insurance arrangements, and support the defence or recovery of losses involving vehicle manufacturers, technology providers, product liability, business interruption and other claims.
A sensible starting point: an AV Readiness Review before the procurement specification or operating model is fixed. This can identify the regulatory structure, the key risks and the contractual protections required before the business commits capital.
Sources and status
This briefing reflects the position as at August 2026. The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 is framework legislation and important parts of the detailed regime remain subject to secondary legislation, consultation and guidance. The document is intended as a high-level guide and is not legal advice.
Automated Vehicles Act 2024 and Explanatory Notes, legislation.gov.uk.
Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles / Department for Transport, Automated Vehicles Act implementation programme, GOV.UK.
Law Commission of England and Wales and Scottish Law Commission, Automated Vehicles: Joint Report (26 January 2022).
Department for Transport / CCAV, Automated vehicles: statement of safety principles consultation (17 June 2026).
Department for Transport / CCAV, Automated vehicles: protecting marketing terms - consultation outcome (updated 7 July 2026).
