Ian Yarnold

Ian currently leads the International Vehicle Standards Division within the UK Department for Transport. He is a mechanical engineer with many years’ experience across a varied career – encompassing heavy vehicle operation & maintenance, plus several years in the UK roadside enforcement agency – DVSA. He currently leads the development of policy on safer, cleaner and quieter road vehicles for the UK and oversees his Government’s involvement at the United Nations in Geneva. Ian is a recognised global expert in the development of regulatory standards for road vehicles, and someone who continues to take a prominent role in international fora. He is the European vice Chairman of the UN-ECE Global Harmonisation group; chaired the UN-ECE technical experts group on accident avoidance technologies for many years, and is the co-Chair of the WP29 ITS group. During this time he has overseen the implementation of many safety systems for heavy and light vehicle applications. He led the early UK activity on autonomous vehicles, including the trials programme and publication of the review of regulations “The Pathway to Driverless Cars”. In 2017 he established the UN-ECE task-force developing the technical assessment criteria for the approval of automated vehicles when used in real-driving conditions, and led WP29’s activity to create the new GRVA experts group on vehicle automation.