A Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) autonomous vehicle expert has called for an objective safety benchmark to assess robotaxis, following a warning from the London Assembly Transport Committee.
Professor Siddartha Khastgir, head of safe autonomy at WMG at the University of Warwick, welcomed the committee’s focus on safety after giving evidence to its inquiry into driverless transport.
The committee said it had not heard sufficient evidence to support the introduction of robotaxis in London. Its recommendations include stronger regulatory powers for Transport for London (TfL), clearer incident reporting and monitoring of journeys made without passengers.
Defining the safety standard
In WMG’s response, Professor Khastgir pointed to United Nations Regulation 185 and the UK’s Automated Vehicles Act 2024 as frameworks for deployment safety.
He said the UN regulation had followed seven years of deliberation involving governments, advocacy groups and industry, while the UK legislation included additional requirements reflecting national needs.
According to Professor Khastgir, the frameworks require autonomous vehicles to meet a safety benchmark equivalent to that of a careful and competent driver.
He argued that defining this benchmark objectively would allow TfL, passengers and developers to make more consistent assessments of autonomous vehicle performance, enabling “a more robust and valuable evaluation of performance”.
Professor Khastgir also urged the committee, TfL and other inquiry participants to engage proactively with technology developers and policymakers as autonomous vehicle technology develops.