SMMT and techUK, along with RoSPA, RoadSafe, RNIB and Motability Operations, have welcomed the UK government’s measures to accelerate the rollout of self-driving vehicles.
The self-driving technology is aimed to improve road safety, reduce collisions, and deliver socio-economic benefits.
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It is expected to deliver £66bn ($89.4m) in economic benefits and create 342,000 jobs by 2040.
The government plans to implement a regulatory framework, enabling organisations to pilot commercial self-driving services from 2026.
This will encourage technology developers and their partners to start designing and implementing services that address the needs of the British public, stated SMMT’s announcement.
techUK chief executive Julian David said: “Today’s announcement is great news for the UK’s AV and tech sectors. The UK must make sure it doesn’t fall behind other countries despite the promising progress made in recent years to create new, bespoke legislation for AVs. The ability to deploy truly driverless passenger services from 2026 is a major milestone towards bringing the benefits of autonomy to communities across the country.
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By GlobalData“techUK’s Self-Driving Vehicle Working Group looks forward to working closely with the government to make new passenger services a reality in the UK.”
TyreSafe, the UK’s tyre safety charity, also expressed its support for the government’s announcement, stressing the importance of tyre safety in ensuring the effectiveness of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Britain’s self-driving vehicle revolution moves one step closer, with today’s announcement putting the country on track to reap the road safety and socio-economic benefits this technology can deliver.
“Pilot rollout of commercial self-driving services from next year will widen public access to mobility, while the consultation will ensure the technology is deployed in a safe and responsible way. These latest measures will help Britain remain a leader in the development and introduction of self-driving vehicles.”
According to recent 2024 MOT data, over 35% of MOT failures were due to previous tyre-related advisories.
This means 768,410 drivers ignored these warnings and subsequently failed their next MOT due to tyre issues.
The increasing trend of vehicles failing MOTs on wheel and tyre-related advisories highlights a growing disregard for these critical safety components.
TyreSafe chair Stuart Lovatt said: “For many years, tyres have consistently been identified as the primary cause of MOT failures for vehicles up to seven years old. This underscores a widespread complacency regarding tyre safety that we must collectively address.”
