United Kingdom: Sections 55 and 56 of Automated Vehicles Act entered into force
Description
Sections 55 and 56 of Automated Vehicles Act entered into force
On 1 January 2026, sections 55 and 56 of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 entered into force. Section 55 amends the tampering offence under section 25 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to expand the definition of "mechanism" to include equipment designed to allow or facilitate autonomous control of a vehicle's motion and any software or electronic information stored in such equipment. Section 56 amends section 76 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to extend references to "vehicle part" to include software and references to "fitting" a vehicle part to include installing or making software interact with a vehicle. Sections 78, 88, and 89, concerning the restriction of certain terms to authorised automated vehicles, the collection and sharing of information under automated passenger service permits, and procedural and administrative matters for such permits, also entered into force for the purpose of making regulations only.
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