Expert Witness Journal Issue 63 October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 90
Clarity in motion: shaping the
future of self-driving language
The government has launched a public consultation to determine which words, phrases, and
symbols should be legally prohibited from use in relation to automated vehicles. In this article we
outline what this means for businesses in the mobility sector – and why it’s important that they
have their say.
l autonomous driving / driving autonomously
l drive autonomously
l drives itself
l driverless
l self-driving / driving itself
l travel autonomously
Introduction
The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (the “2024 Act”),
which received Royal Assent in May 2024, marks a
pivotal moment in the UK’s journey towards a safe
and regulated future for self-driving technology.
Among its key provisions is a new power granted to
the Secretary of State for Transport to protect specific
marketing terms, ensuring that only vehicles officially
authorised as self-driving can be marketed as such.
If adopted, these terms will be legally reserved for
vehicles that have only passed the authorisation process, helping to prevent misleading marketing and
protect consumers from overestimating what a vehicle
can do.
This legislative step is not semantics. It’s about
safeguarding public trust, preventing confusion, and
ensuring that innovation in the automated vehicle
sector proceeds responsibly.
What this means for businesses
For businesses currently using these terms – or planning to – this is a clear call to action: now is the time to
review your marketing strategies and materials. Using
protected terms without proper authorisation could
expose your organisation to enforcement action,
reputational harm, and potential legal liability.
Protected marketing terms: drawing the line between
assistance and autonomy
At its core, the 2024 Act introduces a formal
authorisation process to determine whether a vehicle
can truly operate without human control or oversight.
Only vehicles that pass this process can be legally
described as “self-driving” or “driverless”.
Take proactive steps:
l brief your engineering, product and marketing
teams now so they are aware of the proposed
prohibitions
To enforce this, the Act introduces two new offences:
l Protected Terms Offence: this offence prohibits the
use of specific marketing terms unless the vehicle has
been authorised as automated. The exact list of protected terms will be set out in secondary legislation (a
draft of which is provided alongside the consultation)
l Confusion Offence: this broader offence applies to
any commercial communication likely to mislead consumers into thinking a vehicle can drive itself when it
cannot
l introduce sign off processes and involve legal at an
early stage of the product and marketing journey
l ensure your messaging aligns with the evolving
regulatory landscape to avoid wasting time and cost
adopting inappropriate terminology and communications strategies
Staying ahead of these changes isn’t just about
compliance – it’s about maintaining trust and credibility and avoiding (potentially criminal) sanctions.
Together, these provisions aim to draw a clear legal
line between driver assistance and true automation
– a distinction that is often blurred in marketing
materials.
Have your say
The consultation is open until 1 September 2025, and
your voice matters. Whether you're a manufacturer,
supplier, technology provider, consumer advocate, or
industry stakeholder, this is your opportunity to shape
how the UK defines and protects the language of
automation.
The consultation: shaping the language of
automation
On 10 June 2025, the government launched a public
consultation to determine which words, phrases, and
symbols should be legally prohibited from use unless
a vehicle has been authorised. The current proposed
list of protected terms includes:
You can submit your response in several ways, as
outlined on the Gov.uk website.
l automated (when referring to a vehicle as a whole)
l automated driving
l automated vehicle
l autonomous (when referring to a vehicle as a
whole)
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Author
Ben Gardner
Partner
www.shoosmiths.com
88
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
