Waymo to Join Self-Driving Pilot Program in UK

­Google subsidiary Waymo is joining a handful of autonomous vehicle companies set to hit UK roads for the first time early next year. While a full-scale rollout won’t happen until 2027, per the UK’s Automated Vehicles Act 2024, a slew of robotaxi pilots will begin in 2026.

2024’s Automated Vehicles Act could end up being one of the most consequential pieces of legislation for self-driving vehicles in the UK. First off, it defines what an “autonomous vehicle” is, in an effort to put the kibosh on misleading marketing terms and overall confusion.

Obviously, autonomous vehicles must drive themselves, but in order to attain autonomous status, “neither the vehicle nor its surroundings are being monitored by an individual with a view to immediate intervention in the driving of the vehicle.”

In other words, no “safety driver” and no human behind the wheel to monitor it. The human occupants could theoretically fall asleep.

And since the Act stringently defines “autonomous”, it also shifts liability for accidents from the human passengers to “authorised self-driving entities.”

Moreover, it sets out strict safety guidelines and tests the vehicles must pass to make it onto UK roads. “Authorised automated vehicles will achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or higher than, that of careful and competent human drivers.”

Into this legislative framework jumps the California-based Waymo, joining Uber and Wayve in taking their first autonomous steps in the UK, though Waymo might have a slight advantage, given its engineering hubs in London and Oxford and partnership with the UK-based Jaguar Land Rover.

“We’re thrilled to bring the reliability, safety and magic of Waymo to Londoners,” said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana. “Waymo is making roads safer and transportation more accessible where we operate. We’ve demonstrated how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we can’t wait to expand the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom.”