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New report considers risk of terrorists hijacking remotely driven cars

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The Law Commission of England and Wales has released a new report detailing how remote driving is at risk from terrorists.

Remote driving enables individuals to drive a vehicle from a remote location. There are limited examples of use already in existence, however in controlled environments such as warehouses, farms and mines.

The report examines how existing legal framework would apply to remote driving on UK roads and reveals the threat remote driving poses to national safety, stating “A concern is that a driver might find it easier to use a vehicle as a terrorist weapon if they are remote. This because they would not be involved in the crash and would be able to maintain some emotional distance from their victims.

“This suggests that employers may need to vet remote driving staff, both to maintain the integrity of their systems and to prevent terrorists from being attracted to the remote driver role.”

Alongside terrorism, the report also mentions other remote driving concerns, such as the threat to cybersecurity. It stated: “Cybersecurity is an issue of acute public concern. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has noted that failure in this area may ‘undermine public confidence in the technology’ and also ‘present genuine risks to public safety’".

The report also highlighted other concerns such as remote driving from abroad and legal uncertainty as the authors called for reform in the near future and questioned whether driving from abroad should be banned.

The report was commissioned by The Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and International Vehicle Standards of the Department for Transport to investigate the current legal status of remote driving and to assess if legal reforms are needed, as current legal framework was designed under the assumption that a human driver would be physically inside the car and in control. Since releasing the report, the Commission is inviting responses until 2 September 2022.

Commenting on the new paper, Nicholas Paines QC, Public Law Commissioner said: “Remote driving technology is already capable of being used on our roads. We hope our issues paper can contribute to a healthy debate about the appropriate regulation of this technology and what can be done to maximise protection of road users while encouraging innovation. “We look forward to hearing views on the challenges and possible ways to solve them.”

 

Image: Pixabay

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