First-ever global rules for automated vehicles announced at UN
Friday 26 June 2026
First-ever global rules for automated vehicles announced at UN
Expert comment from Professor Siddartha Khastgir, Head of Safe Autonomy at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick.
“We are delighted to see the adoption of the first-ever global rules for fully automated vehicles at the United Nations. This is a historic moment in the automated driving journey as this regulation - taking a technology neutral and use-case agnostic approach- establishes a set of uniform performance requirements and testing for automated driving.
“This will help prevent the fragmented approaches that have previously caused confusion and additional work for developers and regulators, while also driving improved safety, efficiency and public trust in the technology.
“Over the past eight years, we have worked closely with the UK and global governments, industry, academia and advocacy organisations to discuss, debate and agree on this detailed regulation. The outcome is an illustration of true global cooperation.
“It has been heartening to see that decisions made on the content of the regulation have been underpinned by strong scientific evidence, including research carried out at WMG. The inclusion of the safety case approach, as well as continuous learning from deployments remain the key features of this landmark regulation, and a departure from traditional vehicle regulations.
“We are immensely grateful to the global community for adopting a fresh approach in the regulation for this novel technology.
"Now, focus needs to shift on implementing this. As the UK gets ready for its first automated passenger service trials later this year, we will be one of the first countries to put the regulations into practice. This journey requires continued collaboration amongst the stakeholders, and we are looking forward to providing the scientific underpinnings through-out this process.”
Find out more about Safe Autonomy research at WMG: Safe AutonomyLink opens in a new window
