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How should policymakers engage with the possibilities of self-driving cars? There has been prominent discussion of proposed benefits and safety concerns. However, considering the scale of investment and speed of development, the social complexity of systems involving self-driving cars has received inadequate attention. Self-driving cars are currently being tested on open roads. The anticipation necessary for good governance can be informed only in part by such experiments. There is a need to broaden the set of issues that are considered relevant. In this paper, we report on the first systematic process of engagement with stakeholders in the UK. We organise the findings of these workshops in terms of questions that might inform the ongoing debate about the governance of self-driving cars. These questions are grouped under four headings: technological and market developments, use of and reaction to technology, wider impacts and the role of the public sector. Our conclusion is that this debate urgently needs to be broadened in order to build trustworthiness and maximise the public value of this emerging technology. The possibilities of self-driving cars suggest the need for a more active form of governance for responsible innovation.

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