A future where autonomous vehicles drive on the European roads is promising in many ways. For example road safety, congestion and our environment could benefit from innovation and the large scale rollout of autonomous vehicles (AVs). However, regulation is often stated to form an obstruction for innovation and societal acceptance of AVs.

That hypothesis plays a key role in this PhD-thesis, in which interrelations are investigated between the regulation of product- and traffic liability and personal data protection on the one hand, and innovation and acceptance of AVs on the other. Firstly, it is investigated which factors can be identified in regulatory frameworks that could influence innovation and acceptance of the results of innovation. Secondly, it is assessed to what extent those factors exist in the harmonised regulatory framework of product liability, traffic liability frameworks in The Netherlands, England and France, and the Unionwide regulation of personal data protection. Thirdly, recommendations are formulated for the EU legislator to improve these factors, in order to both stimulate innovation and the creation of optimal conditions for the societal acceptance of AVs.

Three routes are sketched towards factor improvement. The ultimate goal should be to improve the factors within the respective legal frameworks. In order to reach that tenable solution, it is recommended that in parallel a “bottom-up” approach is followed, through the introduction of “bottom-up” binding industry codes of conduct for innovators, and the regulation of mandatory no-fault insurance that should lead to the compensation of damages of victims of AV-related accidents