Automated Vehicles Act 2024

91 Power to update type approval requirements

(1) The Secretary of State may exercise the power in subsection (2) if the Secretary of State considers it appropriate to do so for the purpose of making the assimilated type approval legislation more suitable for—

(a) vehicles that are designed to travel autonomously, or

(b) any other type of vehicle that—

(i) includes equipment designed to allow its motion to be controlled other than by an individual in it, or to facilitate its being so controlled, or

(ii) is designed to incorporate or interact with software.

(2) The power is to make regulations amending the assimilated type approval legislation so as to—

(a) impose new type approval requirements, or

(b) alter or remove existing type approval requirements.

(3) The new requirements that may be imposed include—

(a) requirements on a person who is not already subject to type approval requirements (such as a person who is an authorised self-driving entity or licensed no-user-in-charge operator for the purposes of Part 1);

(b) requirements designed for the purpose of securing, demonstrating, recording or assessing compliance with other type approval requirements.

(4) In this section—

• “the assimilated type approval legislation” means—

  (a)

  Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles,

  (b)

  Regulation (EC) No 78/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users,

  (c)

  Regulation (EC) No 79/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on type-approval of hydrogen-powered motor vehicles,

  (d)

  Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on type-approval of motor vehicles and engines with respect to emissions from heavy duty vehicles;

  (e)

  Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles, their trailers and systems, components and separate technical units intended therefor,

  (f)

  Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles,

  (g)

  Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles,

  (h)

  Regulation (EU) No 540/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on the sound level of motor vehicles and of replacement silencing systems,

  (i)

  Regulation (EU) 2015/758 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 concerning type-approval requirements for the deployment of the eCall in-vehicle system based on the 112 service,

  (j)

  Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles,

  (k)

  any assimilated direct legislation made under, or for the purposes of, any of the regulations listed above,

  (l)

  the Motorcycles (Type-Approval) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/235),

  (m)

  the Agricultural and Forestry Vehicles (Type-Approval) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/236), and

  (n)

  the Road Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/818);

• “travel autonomously” has the same meaning as in Part 1 (see section 1(5));

• “type approval requirements” means requirements in connection with the placing or keeping of a vehicle, or any item designed for use in connection with a vehicle, on the market in Great Britain.