.jpg)
Plans for new motor insurance laws have been revealed in today’s Queen’s speech.
The Government believes the global market for autonomous driving is £900bn and new legislation is required to answer key questions, such as who would be responsible in the event of an accident.
At today’s state opening of Parliament, where the Queen set out the Government’s legislative programme for the year ahead, said there would be new laws designed to keep the country at the forefront of technology for new forms of transport, including autonomous vehicles.
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said the laws would extend the existing compulsory insurance regime, which states that drivers must have insurance, to cover product liability. That would then ensure that owners of driverless cars would be insured for any accidents, he said.
Driverless cars are currently being trialled in four areas of the country, with the first such vehicles expected to take to the road later this year. Further details of the bill would be published in due course.
