Self-Driving Car Accidents: Who Pays If You Are Injured?

Andrew Middlehurst

In September 2026, Uber started offering self-driving taxi rides in London. The cars are driven by software from Wayve, a British technology company. For now, each car also has a licensed safety driver behind the wheel who can take over at any time. Waymo is testing its own self-driving cars in London too, and says it plans to start carrying passengers by the end of the year.

If one of these cars hits you, the first thing you will want to know is who pays for your injuries. That depends mainly on whether a person was meant to be in control of the car when the crash happened. The law also treats today’s supervised cars differently from the fully driverless taxis that are still to come.

Whether you were cycling, walking, driving or riding as a passenger, you can claim compensation for a road accident involving one of these vehicles. In most cases you can do so on a no win, no fee basis.

What kinds of self-driving cars are on the road?

People use “self-driving” to describe three quite different kinds of car, and each one leads to a different kind of claim.

• Cars with driver assistance features. Many new cars can stay in their lane, keep a safe distance from the car in front or brake by themselves in an emergency. The person behind the wheel is still driving and is still responsible.
• Driverless taxis with a safety driver. These are the cars Uber and Wayve are running in London, along with the cars Waymo is testing. The car drives itself, but a trained driver sits behind the wheel and must take over when needed.
• Fully driverless taxis. These drive themselves with nobody expected to step in. No passenger service of this kind runs in London yet, although the government has created the permit scheme to allow one.

Who do I claim against if a driverless taxi or test car hits me?

Today, an accident involving a driverless taxi with a safety driver, or a test car, is handled much like any other road accident. Every vehicle used on the road must be insured, and your claim goes to the insurer of the company operating the car.

In law, the safety driver is the driver. You need to show that the car was driven below the standard expected of a careful and competent driver, whether the software made the mistake or the safety driver failed to step in.

If the system itself was faulty, the claim may also involve product liability (an argument that the technology was defective). How the blame is shared between the driver, the operator and the manufacturer depends on the facts, and the courts have not yet had to decide many of these cases.

What if I was a passenger in a driverless taxi?

Passengers can claim too. If you are hurt while riding in a robotaxi, your claim is against the operator’s insurer, in the same way as a passenger in any other car or a taxi. Rides booked through an app work much like any Uber accident claim.

What happens when the car hands back control?

The moment when the car passes control back to the person in the driver’s seat is called a transition. The Highway Code says that the person must always be able and ready to take control, and must do so when the vehicle prompts them.

Once they have taken back control, they are responsible for every aspect of driving. Arguments about exactly when control passed back, and whether the person reacted quickly enough, are likely to be a common source of disputes.

What if the car only had driver assistance features?

Features such as lane keeping and adaptive cruise control help the driver but do not replace them. The driver remains responsible for how the car is driven.

If a car using these features hits you, you claim against the driver’s insurer in the usual way. If the driver blames the technology, your claim is still against their insurer. It is up to the insurer to take that up with the car maker.

Who pays if the car was driving itself?

Parliament has already set out how claims will work once vehicles are officially classed as able to drive themselves. Under section 2 of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018, if an insured self-driving vehicle causes an accident while driving itself, the insurer is liable for your injuries.

This makes the claim simpler in one important way. You do not have to prove that anyone was careless. You only have to show that the accident was caused by the vehicle while it was driving itself.

There are two limits to keep in mind.

• Your own share of the blame still counts. If you contributed to the accident, for example by riding without lights at night, your compensation can be reduced. Section 3 of the 2018 Act applies the usual rules on contributory negligence (being partly to blame).
• The rule only covers listed vehicles. It applies to vehicles the government has formally recognised as able to drive themselves safely. The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 is due to replace that list with a new approval scheme, which has not yet started.

Once the insurer has paid you, it can recover the money from anyone else who was responsible, such as the manufacturer. That dispute is between them and should not hold up your claim.

Will the person in the car be blamed for how it drives?

For fully self-driving vehicles, the answer will usually be no. The Highway Code already says that while a self-driving vehicle is driving itself in a valid situation, you are not responsible for how it drives.

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 goes further. It protects the person in the driver’s seat (the “user-in-charge”) from prosecution for the way the car drives while it is driving itself. That part of the Act is not yet in force.

The person in the car still has duties. They must be fit to drive, must not hold a mobile phone, and must keep the vehicle in a roadworthy condition.

Why does vehicle data matter in these claims?

Self-driving cars record a great deal of information, including camera footage, sensor readings and a log of who or what was in control at each moment. This data can show exactly how a crash happened, which is especially useful where there were no other witnesses.

The operator or the manufacturer holds this data. Getting hold of it usually means a formal request from your solicitor, and requesting the data as soon as possible gives the best chance that it has been kept.

What should I do after a crash with a self-driving car?

The first steps are the same as after any collision with a car.

1. Get medical help, even if your injuries seem minor at first.
2. Report the crash to the police, especially if anyone was hurt.
3. Take photographs of the scene, the vehicle and your injuries.
4. Note the vehicle’s registration and any company name or branding on it.
5. Get the names and contact details of the safety driver, if there was one, and of any witnesses.
6. Keep any helmet camera, dashcam or phone footage.
7. Speak to a solicitor as soon as you can, so the vehicle’s own data can be requested before it is overwritten.

You normally have three years from the date of the accident to start court proceedings. For a child, the three years start on their 18th birthday.

How is the law likely to change?

Both the 2018 Act and the 2024 Act set out the main principles and leave much of the detail to regulations. Some of that detail is already in place. Since 15 May 2026, operators have been able to apply to the government for a permit to run driverless taxis and other self-driving passenger services.

In London, the government cannot grant a permit for a taxi or minicab-style service without the consent of Transport for London (TfL), which licenses the capital’s taxis and private hire vehicles. TfL is treated as having agreed if it does not reply within six weeks, or if it refuses without giving reasons.

Other parts of the 2024 Act are still waiting to start. These include:

• the scheme for approving vehicles as self-driving
• the protection from prosecution for the person in the driver’s seat
• the safety principles, which must aim for these vehicles to be at least as safe as careful and competent human drivers.

We will update this article as these changes come into force.

How we can help

Our personal injury team acts for people hurt on London’s roads, including cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists. We handle claims involving new vehicle technology, from e-scooters to self-driving cars, and we act in serious injury claims. We are long-standing supporters of the London Cycling Campaign.

If you have been injured by a self-driving or driver-assisted car, our solicitors can tell you who to claim against and whether your claim can proceed on a no win, no fee basis. Call us on 020 7485 8811 or fill in the contact form below.