The long-awaited Automated Vehicles Bill is among 21 bills the UK government plans to approve, the country’s monarch King Charles unveiled in its speech to Parliament on Tuesday.

“My ministers will introduce new legal frameworks to support the safe commercial development of emerging industries, such as self-driving vehicles,” the monarch said on Tuesday.

Following the tradition, a government report seen by Kallanish states the bill will provide the private sector with the “certainty and confidence” it needs to develop the technology in the UK. The supposedly “world’s most comprehensive legal framework” will also cement the country’s position as a “global leader” in self-driving vehicles (SDV), it adds.

“The Automated Vehicles Bill puts safety and the protection of the user at the heart of our new regime and makes sure that only the driver – be it the vehicle or person – is accountable, clarifying and updating the law,” the government states.

The bill sets a “rigorous” safety framework for SDVs, holding the SDV makers, rather than the owners, accountable for the vehicles once they are on the roads. Furthermore, it seeks to ensure that the makers will have clear legal liability over how the vehicle drives. Companies that fail to meet safety requirements may be subject to fines, corrective actions, or even suspension of operation, alongside criminal offences in serious cases.

Around 70% of global auto sector companies are sourcing for self-driving technologies from the UK market, the government said, adding that the UK SDV sector generated £475 million ($584m) in direct investments between 2018 and 2022. With the new bill, the UK market is expected to hit £41.7 billion by 2035 – roughly 6.4% of the global market – creating 38,000 skilled jobs. 

The country’s automotive sector has long been calling for SDV regulations, with the UK Transport Committee recently suggesting existing laws are “archaic and limiting.” Recently, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) also released a report which noted the urgent need for “relevant regulatory and legislative reforms” for the UK to unlock the potential posed by the SDV market. 

While the automotive industry welcomed the Automated Vehicles Bill, Simon Williams, head of policy at the motoring body RAC notes the government will have to first “sort out the state of our roads” to “truly realise” the benefits of autonomous technology.

“It’s hard to fathom how driverless cars will be able to safely navigate our streets when so many road markings are faded, and then there’s the prospect of vehicles getting needlessly damaged by the UK’s pothole plague as they surely won’t be programmed to avoid them,” Williams says.