The Transport Secretary is set to visit Oxford to welcome the news that the Automated Vehicles Act, which could see self-driving vehicles on British roads by 2026, has received royal assent.
Mark Harper will be visiting Oxa, a manufacturer of automated vehicle technology, in Oxford on Thursday, May 23, to see the self-driving vehicles first hand.
The government's act officially became law on Monday, May 20.
With the industry worth up to £42 billion, the act is set to create 38,000 more skilled jobs by 2035.
It is aiming to improve road safety by reducing human error, which contributes to 88 per cent of road collisions.
It requires self-driving vehicles to achieve a level of safety at least as high as careful and competent human drivers, as well as meeting rigorous safety checks before being allowed onto roads.
Mr Harper said: "Britain stands at the threshold of an automotive revolution, and this new law is a milestone moment for our self-driving industry which has the potential to change the way we travel forever.
"While this doesn't take away people's ability to choose to drive themselves, our landmark legislation means self-driving vehicles can be rolled out on British roads as soon as 2026, in a real boost both safety and our economy."
The act sets out who is liable for automated vehicles, meaning while a driver's vehicle is in self-driving mode, they will not be held responsible for how it drives.
For the first time, corporations such as insurance providers, software developers and automotive manufacturers can assume this responsibility.
The vehicle approval system will be supported by a completely independent incident investigation function.
The act follows Oxa, as well as London-based Wayve, trialling self-driving cars in London and Oxford.
Wayve has secured more than $1 billion in investments to further develop its AI technology in the UK.
Paul Newman, founder and chief technology officer of Oxa, said: "The act gives the UK new momentum as developers like Oxa will need to comply with the world's most comprehensive autonomous vehicle laws to deploy technology in vehicles here.
"Meeting the highest automated vehicle standards will make British companies global leaders with technology that is the safest and AI systems the most trusted - all key to building business and public trust in autonomy globally."
“The immense work put in by the Department for Transport, Law Commissions and The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in crafting the Automated Vehicles Bill has helped it pass into law with the strongest cross-party backing.
"We now have autonomous vehicle legislation which is more comprehensive in scope and clearer in its requirements than in any other country."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here