Automated Vehicles Act 2024

78 Restriction of certain terms to authorised automated vehicles

(1) The Secretary of State may, by regulations, specify words, expressions, symbols or marks as appropriate for use in connection with road vehicles only if used in connection with authorised automated vehicles (whether generally or of a description given in the regulations).

(2) A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person uses, or causes or permits the use of, a restricted term in connection with the promotion or supply of a road vehicle,

(b) the person is acting in the course of business,

(c) the use of the restricted term is directed at an end-user or potential end-user of the vehicle,

(d) it is reasonable to anticipate that the use of the term will come to the attention of an end-user or potential end-user of the vehicle in Great Britain, and

(e) the vehicle is not an appropriate vehicle.

(3) A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person uses, or causes or permits the use of, a restricted term in connection with the promotion or supply of a product intended for use as equipment of a road vehicle,

(b) the person is acting in the course of business,

(c) the use of the restricted term is directed at an end-user or potential end-user of a road vehicle,

(d) it is reasonable to anticipate that the use of the term will come to the attention of an end-user or potential end-user of a road vehicle in Great Britain, and

(e) the restricted term is not used specifically in relation to the use of the product as equipment of an appropriate vehicle.

(4) It is a defence for a person accused of an offence under this section to prove that the restricted term was used in a way that was not intended to convey, and could not reasonably have been understood as conveying, any meaning to do with automation.

(5) It is a defence for a person accused of an offence under this section to prove that—

(a) the use of the restricted term was directed only at end-users or potential end-users of vehicles outside Great Britain, and

(b) the person took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence—

(i) to prevent the use of the restricted term from coming to the attention of end-users or potential end-users of road vehicles in Great Britain, or

(ii) to ensure that such end-users or potential end-users would understand that the use of the restricted term was not directed at them.

(6) It is a defence for a person accused of an offence under this section to prove that—

(a) the business in the course of which the person was acting did not involve the manufacture or supply of the vehicle or equipment in question,

(b) the communication in which the restricted term was used was formulated in the course of another business, and

(c) the person did not know, and had no reason to suspect, that the use of the restricted term would amount to an offence under this section.

(7) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction in England or Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or a fine (or both);

(b) on summary conviction in Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both);

(c) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine (or both).

(8) In this section—

• “appropriate vehicle”, in relation to the use of a restricted term, means an authorised automated vehicle in connection with which the use of the restricted term is specified under subsection (1) as appropriate;

• “restricted term” means a word, expression, symbol or mark specified under subsection (1).

(9) For the purposes of this section, a person is to be taken to use a restricted term if the person uses a word, expression symbol or mark so closely resembling a restricted term as to be likely to be mistaken for it.