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15 November 2018 / Nicholas Bevan
Issue: 7817 / Categories: Features , Insurance / reinsurance
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Driverless vehicles: a future perfect?

In the first part of a special series on road traffic accident reform, Nicholas Bevan reports on the challenges posed by automated vehicles

  • An overview of Part I of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018, which is intended to fill the gap in civil liability law highlighted by the rise of automated vehicles such as driverless cars.

Part I of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (AEVA 2018) represents the most radical reform to the regulatory framework of compulsory motor insurance for 88 years. It is intended to address a gap in our civil liability law made manifest by developments in vehicle automation. This government is keen to facilitate this technology that promises to transform our lives in the future.

In 2017, the chancellor of the exchequer stated that the government intended these reforms to get driverless cars on our roads by 2021; much depends upon what is meant by ‘driverless’.

Third-party motor insurance was made compulsory under the Road Traffic Act 1930. The objective was, and remains, to guarantee that motor accident

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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