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Driverless car consultation to impact fleet management, says AFP

Paul Hollick said: “It represents the first wave of driverless vehicle adoption in the UK, something which will probably have repercussions for all vehicle operators in the future."

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The Government’s consultation on the adoption of driverless passenger vehicles is likely to have wide-ranging implications for the future of fleet risk management, said the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP).

The consultation covers taxis, buses and other passenger carrying vehicles, and is planned to lead to limited trials next year ahead of a wider implementation as part of the Automated Vehicles Act in 2027.

Paul Hollick, chair at the AFP, said: “Relatively few of our members are involved in operating passenger carrying vehicles but this consultation will still be of huge interest because it represents the first wave of driverless vehicle adoption in the UK, something which will probably have repercussions for all vehicle operators in the future.

“The scope of the exercise is quite wide ranging, looking at what the consultation describes as the challenges and benefits of driverless vehicles.

“Its outcome and the subsequent trials could directly impact on whether, for example, these vehicles must always be used with a remote safety driver or allowed to operate entirely autonomously.

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“Issues such as this will in the medium-term probably have significant ramifications for our members in both operational and risk management respects.”

The consultation could help to establish general guidelines that affect all fleets in the future, he said.

Hollick added: “This is technology that has potential applications for everyone from panel van to benefit car fleets and the phase we are now entering will probably determine core expectations about safety, competence and utility.

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“It could well define some important baselines.

“There are very big questions to be answered from a fleet risk point of view, that we may now start to see resolved.

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“At the most fundamental level, fleets will want to know whether it is safe to put employees in driverless vehicles, how it affects the risk of injury to them and to other road users, and how their insurers will view its adoption?”

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Hollick said it was important to remember the consultation was not about the actual safety of specific driverless vehicles.

Instead, this was a factor already included in the Automated Vehicles Act, requiring self-driving vehicles to achieve a level of safety that matched competent and careful human drivers.

He said: “We hear a wide range of views from across the AFP about this technology and are sure that our members will make submissions.

“Some are excited about its potential and keen to try it out.

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“Others point to poor experiences with current semi-autonomous driving systems on their existing fleet and are extremely sceptical.

“However, the government announcement expresses a high degree of confidence following test programmes that have been taking place since 2015 and, with trials now only a year away, we should start to build up a detailed picture quite quickly.”

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