Advanced, Automated and Electric Vehicle Law

’A comprehensive and informative guide to the law, set in its historical and technical context, by an author with a deep understanding of transformative technology could not be more timely. I can think of no better guide in this field than Alex Glassbrook.’

From the Foreword by Mr Justice Sweeting

The era of advanced, automated and electric vehicles (AAEVs) has begun; the legal transformation is starting.

In July 2018, Parliament enacted the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018, legislating for electric vehicle charging and allowing a direct civil claim against the motor insurer of an automated, ’self-driving’ vehicle. In May 2022, the UK government announced its intention to create a new legal category for e-scooters. In April 2023, a ’hands free’ advanced driver assistance system was approved for use on certain motorways across England, Wales and Scotland.

On 8 November 2023 the Automated Vehicles Bill 2023-24 (HL Bill 1) had its first reading in Parliament.

Motor vehicle technologies have developed since the nineteenth century and have affected numerous aspects of our lives - from road safety to the environment, from the laws of negligence and contribution to the rules of compulsory insurance. As AAEV technologies proliferate, their effects are likely to spread further.

This book describes the emerging laws of advanced, automated and electric vehicles in England and Wales, explaining

- The insurance and liability reforms of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018
- The wider regulatory reforms of the Automated Vehicles Bill 2023-24, set to become the Automated Vehicles Act 2024
- The range of legal practice areas affected by AAEVs, including discussions of the new public laws of vehicle safety, the actionability of downloaded software, electronic disclosure in civil litigation and the law of testing prototypes.

This book will help those litigating, adjudicating, regulating and studying AAEV issues. It gives the context and detail of AAEV law in its many applications. It is a map to a fast-changing legal landscape.

This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional’s Cyber Law online service.

Alex Glassbrook is a barrister at Temple Garden Chambers, specialising in the law of Connected & Autonomous Vehicles.
He wrote the first book on the law of driverless cars in the UK (＂The Law of Driverless Cars: An Introduction＂), which was published in 2017. The second edition (＂A Practical Guide to the Law of Driverless Cars＂, co-written with Emma Northey and Scarlett Milligan) was published in November 2019.
Alex practises in all aspects of civil road transport law, including cases involving new vehicle technologies (such as advanced driver assistance systems), motor insurance issues, suspected motor insurance fraud, high-value vehicle damage and hire claims and serious personal injury cases.
Alex is recommended by both Chambers and Legal 500:
＂He has a very serene courtroom manner. He can be calm but then quite deadly.＂ Chambers & Partners 2020
＂His grasp of the smallest details in a case can often be the making of your strategy.＂ Legal 500 2020
＂He is skilled in handling digital evidence and technology development issues. ＂He’s very well known and his pleadings are excellent＂.＂ Chambers & Partners 2019
Alex has written many articles and lectures about Automated Vehicle (AV) law. A full list of Alex’s publications, with PDF’s, appears in the ＂publications＂ section of Alex’s profile at the TG Chambers website, at https: //tgchambers.com/member-profile/alex-glassbrook/.
Those materials can also be found at www.linkedin.com/in/alex-glassbrook, where Alex regularly posts about CAV law.