A driving force for safety

We explore the impact of Scotland’s first self-driving buses and what’s next for autonomous vehicles – from technological developments to safety regulations.

While self-driving cars and services are already operating in cities across the US and China, Scotland is believed to be the first country to launch autonomous buses to the public.

The fleet of five full-sized buses, which each have a safety driver onboard, can carry up to 10,000 passengers per week on the 14-mile route from Fife to Edinburgh Park, with maximum speeds of 50mph (CAVForth, 2023). The pilot project, which was introduced last year, has brought together multiple organisations, including technology firm Fusion Processing Ltd, transport operator Stagecoach, bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, Edinburgh Napier University and Transport Scotland.

“CAVForth has helped establish Scotland’s credentials in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology on the global stage,” explained Fiona Hyslop, Scotland’s Secretary for Transport. “The Scottish Government has used its involvement to learn what steps a roads authority like Transport Scotland must take to support the safe operation of self-driving vehicles.

“Trials like this will be fundamental to their use becoming more widespread.”

Stagecoach is now looking at how AV technology could be applied in different use cases.   

In addition to the East Scotland operation, other self-driving transport services will launch in Sunderland and Cambridge later this year.  

Steven Russell, innovation manager at Stagecoach, said: “We are also planning to extend the CAVForth route this year, adding a five-mile stretch running into Dunfermline City Centre.”

Safety first approach

Flexibility has been important throughout the project, said Steven. “We had to work with emerging regulations and be a guinea pig for getting our vehicles approved for public service.”

But what happens if something goes wrong as a result of technological or human failure?   

“Currently, the legal framework doesn’t allow for a self-driving entity to be responsible in the event of an accident, so you need to have a human monitoring the driving 100% of the time,” Steven explained. “It’s the safety driver who is ultimately responsible for the vehicle.”

However, this could change if the Automated Vehicles Bill (AV Bill) is passed by UK Parliament (see Legal implications). “It would set a new framework for regulation and allow a technology provider to be legally responsible for the system’s driving.”

Dr Nick Reed, founder of research consultancy Reed Mobility, added: “You could argue that putting all these regulations in place makes it harder for developers to deliver what they need to do for commercial deployment.

“At the same time, some of the problems Cruise and Waymo in the US have had over the last year may have been avoided if they took this more cautious, pragmatic approach to AV deployment.”

Understanding interactions  

Indeed, self-driving technology could save 3,900 lives and prevent 60,000 serious accidents by 2040. As such, building societal expectations into the deployment of self-driving cars is key, Nick believes. 

“If a vehicle is running late, would you expect it to take more risks to get back on time? No, people don’t want that. In an urban environment, should they nudge out into a stream of traffic as a human driver might do and hope someone lets them in?

“Blending a self-driving vehicle into the way human driving happens today is not going to happen overnight. There’s going to be a mixed economy for decades as these vehicles mix with human driven vehicles.”

The future of AVs

Defining the expected level of safety performance is for AVs should happen this year, according to Nick. “Understanding how to investigate self-driving vehicle crashes to prevent them in the future will help in delivering societal value,” he said.

“We’re shifting from month-long trials to something that becomes part of people’s everyday lives, whether that’s delivering packages or moving people around.”

Fiona agreed: “The development and deployment of self-driving vehicles has the potential to bring transformative change to peoples’ lives, not just in how we travel, but in how we work, where we live, the environment and safety.

“It’s important that projects such as CAVForth and other applications of self-driving vehicles look to ensure that societal acceptance and benefits are central to their thinking.”

Efforts to put in place a comprehensive safety framework and provide clarity in terms of legal liability and protection for consumers are underway with the AV Bill. It implements recommendations for the safe introduction of AVs onto the UK’s roads from the Law Commissions of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission.

“It is a significant step forward,’ said Roger Davis, corporate affairs lawyer at Kennedys. ‘While much of the detail on technical aspects is to follow by way of secondary legislation, if passed, the Bill provides the legislative framework from which to build.”

Consultation is crucial in shaping the legal and regulatory framework, he explained, and a wide range of stakeholders that includes manufacturers, insurers, road safety groups, consumers, police and local authorities should continue to be involved.

“The framework needs to be robust, but also flexible and able to adapt with developing technology,” Roger added.

For updates, go to: bills.parliament.uk/bills/3506

Written by Katie Smith