Driverless car launched by UK government

According to a report from Department of UK Transport changes to the Highway Code and the MOT test will be necessary to accommodate driverless cars on the roads of the UK. The government wants the UK to become a world leader in driverless technology. It will publish a code of practice in the spring which will allow the testing of autonomous cars to go ahead.

Self-drive pods that will be tested in Milton Keynes and Coventry were unveiled for the first time. The government promised a full review of current legislation by the summer of 2017.
That review will consider whether a higher standard of driving should be demanded of automated vehicles.

Gateway will test self-drive passenger shuttle vehicles in Greenwich. It will also look at who would be responsible in the event of a collision and how to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians.

The Department of Transport report acknowledged that true driverless cars may be some way off and that current tests of the technology will need to include a qualified test driver to supervise the vehicle.

"Driverless vehicle technology has the potential to be a real game-change on the UK's roads, altering the face of motoring in the most fundamental of ways and delivering major benefits for road safety, social inclusion, emissions and congestion," said transport minister Claire Perry. The government is providing £19m to launch four driverless car schemes in four UK locations.

 

To mark the launch of the review, Ms Perry and Business Secretary Vince Cable highlighted some of the trials that they are funding, including a fully autonomous shuttle in Greenwich and a BAE System-developed Wildcat vehicle, which will be tested in Bristol.

Self-drive pods that will be tested in Milton Keynes and Coventry were also unveiled for the first time. Prof Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "These trials are not just about harnessing technology to make our travelling lives easier and safer, they also involve getting the regulation right. "Alongside the hi-tech innovation you need policy decisions on long-term, low-tech matters such as who takes responsibility if things go wrong.

As and when these vehicles become commonplace, there is likely to be a shift from personal to product liability and that is a whole new ball game for insurers and manufacturers." But the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) said that it was concerned that, while the government is pushing ahead with making driverless cars a reality, the service and repair sector did not yet have the skills and infrastructure in place to deal with the new technology.

IMI chief executive Steve Nash is calling on businesses to take steps to address this sooner rather than later. "We believe the government is yet to fully the pressures we are under," he said.