Recommendation 5

HM Government Deferred

The Government partially accepts this recommendation. As set out in CAM 2025, self-driving vehicles will need to be able to safely operate using the infrastructure available when they are deployed. The Government recognises that physical and digital infrastructure has the potential to support and enhance self-driving and connected vehicle technologies. The Automated Vehicles Bill therefore includes provisions for the digitisation of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs). This follows a consultation in 2022 in which 87% of respondents supported the proposal. TROs hold information that can facilitate a self-driving vehicle’s understanding of the road and the legal parameters of the road network, for example information on speed limits, parking bays, bus lanes and road works. However, the information is currently held by individual traffic regulation authorities on separate systems. Making the information available digitally, in a common format, and on a published platform, can support the safe operation of self-driving vehicles. A study by the International Transport Forum examined how infrastructure needs to prepare for self-driving vehicles, drawing on experience from 19 countries and a number of developers and industry experts. The study reported in 2023 and found: • The rapidly evolving nature of technology makes it difficult to identify specific infrastructure standards that self-driving vehicles expect. More broadly, the fact that developers seek to use existing roads in their current state means that self- driving vehicles are more likely to adapt themselves to the physical network than vice versa. • However, there is a wider ‘invisible infrastructure’ that supports the operation of modern vehicles, including self-driving vehicles. This includes the provision of live, machine-readable data on the status of the road, high-definition mapping, on-road connectivity and geolocation services. This was also coupled with institutional and legal support needed to enable successful and safe operation. The Government recognises this shift in requirements, as well as their relevance for human-driven vehicles. On 18 October 2023, at Highways UK, Ministers launched Roads to Tomorrow, an engagement programme with the roads sector exploring opportunities and challenges of the rising use of technology on the road network. The immediate needs of self-driving vehicles and other forms of vehicle automation will be a theme of this work. The results of this will inform the creation of the third road investment strategy (RIS3) and other major strategies. Alongside this work, the Government will continue to work with industry to understand future connectivity needs on UK roads. This will form part of the delivery of the Government’s Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, which will set out a strategic framework for the development, deployment and adoption of 5G and future networks. The Government will build on the Connected Places Cyber Security Principles developed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to ensure that transport applications such as CAM can be safely integrated into the smart cities of the future. Guidance will be required from the Government to ensure that road authorities can invest in their existing traffic control systems both to deliver dynamic data services and to benefit from the richer sources of network intelligence offered by connected vehicles, which will enable improved network management. Work in this area is already in progress through the National Highways Digital Roads programme, which will act as a model for other road authorities. National Highways Digital Roads vision sets out how they will continue to harness data, technology, and connectivity to improve the way the Strategic Road Network (SRN) is designed, built, operated and used. This will enable safer journeys, faster delivery and an enhanced customer experience for all. It will also tackle the digital infrastructure implications; adopting a digital-by-default approach to everything across the organisation and lifecycle of the road network.