Policy wins from Logistics UK

Automated Vehicle Bill becomes law

On 20 May, the Automated Vehicles Act became law after being announced in the King’s Speech and paves the way to allow for self-driving vehicles (including trucks) to be rolled out on British roads as soon as 2026.

The law will require self-driving vehicles to achieve a level of safety at least as high as careful and competent human drivers, as well as meeting rigorous safety checks before being allowed onto roads.

To ensure these vehicles are safe for British roads, the vehicle approval system will be supported by a completely independent incident investigation function. Companies will have ongoing obligations to keep their vehicles safe and ensure that they continue to drive in accordance with British laws.

The details of which encapsulate Logistics UK's steer to government and other bodies on the necessity to include the nuances of heavy commercial vehicle operation, and their regulatory regime, into legislation. Logistics UK helped to bring about this change, through years of attendance at meetings with government bodies and others, including responses to the Law Commission reviews, and proposing "user cases" for heavy commercial vehicle transition towards autonomy.

Weight threshold for alternatively fuelled vehicles in Northern Ireland

On 18 January 2024 the Department for Infrastructure launched a consultation seeking views on a proposed increase of maximum permitted weights for certain alternatively fuelled vehicles or zero emission vehicles, mainly HGVs, within Northern Ireland.

On 24 May it announced that it will increase the maximum permitted weights in line with the changes introduced in GB in July 2023. Logistics UK responded to this consultation supporting the proposals to increase weight limits of alternatively fuelled vehicles or zero emission vehicles to minimise any reduction in payload availability and reduce emissions given Northern Ireland’s climate change targets.

In this response the business group also made the case that consideration should be given to weight limit increases for other reasons that would still have environmental benefit, citing longer semi-trailers and HGVs with double deck refrigeration units as examples which could particularly benefit from this change. 

Logistics UK also raised the need for change with the Infrastructure Minister in Northern Ireland when he attended the Northern Ireland Freight Council meeting on 16 May 2024.

Published On: 06/06/2024 15:00:00

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