The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Automated Vehicles) Order 2022

Statutory Instruments

2022 No. 470

Road Traffic

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Automated Vehicles) Order 2022

Made

23rd April 2022

Coming into force

1st July 2022

The Secretary of State makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 44(1)(c), 44(2) and 44(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988(1).

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Automated Vehicles) Order 2022 and comes into force on 1st July 2022.

(2) This Order extends to England and Wales and Scotland.

Application

2.  This Order applies to automated vehicles as defined by section 1(4) of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018(2).

Modification of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986

3.  The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986(3) have effect in relation to automated vehicles as if the following modifications were made to regulation 109(1)—

(a) at the end of sub-paragraph (c), the word “or” is omitted;

(b) at the end of sub-paragraph (d), the full stop is omitted, and the following is inserted—

“; or

(e) of any sort, provided that—

(i) the information is displayed on the built-in apparatus of an automated vehicle;

(ii) the vehicle is driving itself within the meaning of section 8(1)(a) of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018; and

(iii) the vehicle is not requesting the driver to take over control.”

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Vere

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

23rd April 2022

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order provides that the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (S.I. 1986/1078) have effect in relation to automated vehicles as if certain modifications were made to regulation 109(1) (television sets). The effect of these modifications is that regulation 109 allows drivers of automated vehicles to be in such a position as to be able to see, whether directly or by reflection, information of any sort, provided that it is displayed on the built-in apparatus of a vehicle, that the vehicle is driving itself within the meaning of section 8(1)(a) of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (c. 18), and that the vehicle is not requesting the driver to take over control. This would otherwise be prohibited by regulation 109(1), contravention of which is an offence under section 42 (breach of other construction and use requirements) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52).

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.

An Explanatory Memorandum, whilst not required for this instrument, is supplied to the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and is published alongside this instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

(1)

1988 c. 52. Section 44(1) was amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40), section 48, referring to Schedule 4, paragraph 51.

(2)

2018 c. 18.

(3)

S.I. 1986/1078, to which there are amendments not relevant to this Order.