Autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles

A key area in the development of the law for autonomous vehicles, also known as automated vehicles, driverless cars, or self driving cars, has involved identifying the language that should be used to define such vehicles and establishing a “clear bright line” between vehicles that satisfy the test for self driving or not. The Law Commissions, in their joint report, Automated Vehicles (see further below), described automated vehicles as:

‘…a vehicle that is designed to be capable of “driving itself”: to operate in a mode “in which it is not being controlled and does not need to be monitored by an individual, for at least part of a journey”.’

The Law Commissions identified that these terms should be reserved for vehicles where “the human in the driving seat (if any) may relax and divert their attention, knowing that they are not responsible for anything that happens while the automated driving system (ADS) is engaged”.

They contrasted self-driving cars with technology that is designed to assist human drivers but still requires the human behind the wheel to monitor the vehicle and the driving environment. This approach is endorsed in

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest TMT News

ASA issues final guidance on less healthy food and drink advertising restrictions

TMT analysis: From the 5 January 2026, ads for ‘identifiable’ less healthy food and drink products will be banned from appearing on television between 5.30 am and 9.00 pm, on on-demand programme services between 5.30 am and 9.00 pm, and in paid online media at any time. Alongside exemptions for SME’s and media outside scope (such as radio, press and posters), the regime creates a safe harbour for ‘brand advertisements’. Brinsley Dresden, Rebecca Moore, and Helen Hart of Lewis Silkin consider the issues.

Ofcom explains how AI chatbots are regulated under the UK Online Safety Act

Ofcom has published an explainer on how AI chatbots are covered by the Online Safety Act (OSA 2023), setting out when providers of chatbot services must assess and reduce the risk of harm to users, especially children. The guidance explains which types of online services are in scope, where chatbots fall under the Act, how AI-generated content is treated, and Ofcom’s role as the UK’s regulator for online safety.

Home Office announces ban on nudification apps and criminalises non‐consensual deepfake creation

The Home Office has published its Action Plan aimed at halving violence against women and girls within a decade. Key legal updates include the strengthening of online safety measures—such as criminalising harmful content and synthetic sexual abuse—and robust reforms in education, policing, and multi‐agency collaboration. It introduces provisions to ban nudification apps—tools designed to create synthetic non‐consensual intimate images—and establishes a new criminal offence targeting the creation and distribution of non‐consensual deepfake intimate images as part of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. These steps are intended to disrupt harmful digital practices and further protect women and girls against technologically facilitated abuse.

Execution of multi-party deeds

Banking & Finance analysis: The case of Macdonald Hotels alarmed lenders and their lawyers earlier in the year, with obiter comments suggesting that, for the ‘face value’ requirement to be met for a deed, all parties have to make it clear in the document that they intend it to be a deed, not just those executing as a deed. The City of London Law Society subsequently issued a note giving their opinion on the comments and how to meet the face value requirement. This News Analysis looks at where we have got to on this issue as 2025 draws to a close.