A significant near-term commercial opportunity for connected and automated mobility (CAM) sits off the highway. CAM technologies can, and are already, being accepted as a next step in ports, on airport aprons, and on factory premises. These are the environments where the business case for CAM is clearest, where the operational benefits; labour efficiency, safety and logistics productivity are most immediate, and where organisations are already making commercial progress in the UK. 

The challenge for further development is that this legal picture is complex, and distributed across multiple overlapping regimes. This is a challenge we set out to address in our latest insights report. 

Working with Burges Salmon LLP, and drawing on practical insight from organisations already involved in off-highway CAM deployments, Zenzic has published the UK’s first structured legal overview for CAM deployment on private land: the CAM Legal Landscape: Off-Highway. 

What the report covers 

The report maps every area of law relevant to an organisation considering the deployment of automated vehicles in a port, airport or factory. It covers: 

  • Health and safety law — the most significant legal area for off-highway CAM deployment; the statutory duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act, ALARP obligations, and the specific HSE guidance and Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) applicable to ports, airports and factories 
  • Contract law — how liability is allocated between operators, technology providers and landowners, and what warranties, indemnities and exclusions you need to address before deployment commences 
  • Tort law and occupier’s liability — the duty of care owed to employees, visitors and third parties on private land, and how that duty applies when an automated vehicle is operating in your environment 
  • Product safety law — the obligations on manufacturers, importers, distributors and system integrators of AV components under UK product safety legislation — including the implications of the Government’s February 2026 announcement on EU law re-alignment 
  • Data protection and cybersecurity — how UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 apply to the data that CAM systems inevitably collect and process 
  • Location-specific byelaws — port and airport byelaws, their legal force, and how the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 does and does not apply by analogy in off-highway contexts 

The document also includes four appendices:  

  • A CAM-focused analysis of the key health and safety regulations,  
  • A H&S guidance document translating those regulations into practical considerations,  
  • A dedicated Northern Irish law comparison prepared by Carson McDowell (because Northern Irish law differs significantly from Great Britain law, due to the Windsor Framework),  
  • A practical considerations section developed through engagement with organisations already deploying on private land. 

It is essential reading for: 

  • Port operators and harbour authorities considering automated port trucks, cargo handling or logistics vehicles 
  • Airport operators and ground handlers considering automated airside vehicles or passenger transfer systems 
  • Factory and industrial site operators considering automated vehicles within manufacturing environments 
  • AV technology providers and system integrators who bear their own obligations under product safety law 
  • Legal and risk teams supporting any of the above 

An important note 

This document is guidance, not legal advice. The law applicable to any specific deployment will depend on the specific facts and circumstances of that use case. All organisations must take their own specialist legal advice before acting on its contents. Law is stated as at 1 March 2026. 

Access the guidance 

The CAM Legal Landscape: Off-Highway is available now on the Zenzic Knowledge Base. 

Zenzic.io/insights/