Out-Law News 1 min. read

Isle of Man could host driverless cars testing by the summer


The legal framework on the Isle of Man could be reformed in time to enable the testing of driverless cars on public roads there this summer, according to media reports.

The Times and the Washington Post are among a number of publications that have reported on the possibility in recent days.

According to the reports, the Isle of Man government has set up a group to advise it on whether it should accommodate driverless cars testing on the island's public roads and, if so, what laws need to be updated to facilitate that.

Phil Gawne, the Isle of Man's minister for infrastructure, said the "fairly urgent" review is expected to be completed within a month and that any necessary changes to the island's legal framework could be made delivered within two to three months, according to the Washington Post's report. He said the Isle of Man government has already held discussions with some companies that are interested in testing driverless cars.

“We’re very keen," Gawne said, according to the report. "We can see a lot of potential advantages for the island… We like to be innovative on the island. We like also to be independent. This helps both those areas in terms of our international image and reputation.”

The UK government last year issued a streamlined code of practice for testing 'driverless' vehicles on public roads. The code addresses a number of issues relevant to the testing of driverless vehicles - from vehicle and test driver requirements, to insurance, data protection and cyber security issues.

The UK government has set up a joint policy unit, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C-CAV), to help support the development of the connected and autonomous vehicles industry in the UK.

Expert in autonomous vehicles technology and regulation Ben Gardener of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, has previously analysed the UK government's driverless cars code and the existing legal framework for testing and commercialising other types of autonomous vehicles in the UK.

Gardener said there is a comparison to be drawn between the UK and Isle of Man initiatives.

"The Isle of Man seems pretty willing to push through legislative changes quickly and you can draw a comparison with the UK government which is committed to changing the law by summer 2017,” Gardener said. "To be honest, that appears to be a very ambitious target because the UK’s road traffic law is pretty wide ranging. It is probably going to take much longer than that."

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