Insight: Digital Europe publishes “Embracing the future of mobility – a strategy for autonomous driving in the EU”

Digital Europe have published a strategic vision for the future of mobility in Europe, focusing on the transformative potential of autonomous vehicles (AVs), with implications for how we in the UK work to deliver an AV future.

It’s great to see our EU counterparts highlighting the enormous potential for AV technology across a wide range of areas, including safer roads, reduced emissions, greater mobility for all, and maintaining global economic and technological competitiveness. These are key benefits of this tech, and techUK’s Self-Driving Vehicle Working Group will be making these points loud and clear in our responses to Department for Transport consultations on AVs, expected soon.

A central challenge in the European context that the report identifies is the fragmented nature of regulation and policy across the continent and calls for a renewed and unified EU strategy that simplifies and harmonises the regulatory landscape, enabling faster deployment and commercial viability of AVs. This is particularly true when the UK and USA are added to the mix and so, as the UK develops its AV legal regime, techUK will act as a convener of use cases, experiences, and best practice across the globe to help ensure that UK rules and market set-up allow for an AV market that is well-integrated with the rest of the world. The current fragmentation undermines innovation and scalability, and more needs to be done to allow AVs to operate seamlessly across borders, unlocking their full potential in logistics, public transport, and personal mobility.

DigitalEurope also highlights that the EU has a similar pressing issue to the UK: incomplete pre-deployment testing procedures. It’s vital that the public can see that AVs are rigorously tested and demonstrate a high level of safety, and we are awaiting further information and guidance from the Government about how they wish to define the safety standards that self-driving vehicles must meet to be authorised for use on UK roads.

As the first set of consultations and proposals on the testing, marketing, and deployment of AVs in the UK are published, techUK will ensure that the views of industry and other interested stakeholders are well-represented in Government. To receive updates, join our working group, and be part of this work, please email [email protected]

Smart Infrastructure and Systems Programme activities

techUK champion the role of technology in driving positive outcomes in our built infrastructure; from hitting net zero goals to improving safety. In doing so, we also optimise the commercial and regulatory landscape to ensure innovation in infrastructure can flourish. Visit the programme page here