Cars with self-driving features could be used on motorways from 2023 with a full roll out of self-driving cars by 2025 under new Government plans.
The Government will invest £100 million in the plan and has already confirmed that £34 million will be used for research on safety developments and to inform more detailed legislation, £20 million will be used to help kick-start commercial self-driving services and £6 million will go towards further market research and to support commercialisation of the technology.
It is expected that some vehicles, including cars, coaches and lorries, with self-driving features could be operating on motorways in the next year, with new legislation allowing for the safe wider roll out of self-driving vehicles by 2025.
The new legislation will state that manufacturers are responsible for the vehicle’s actions when self-driving and they will also need to ensure that vehicles meet certain standards to be allowed to 'self-drive' on the roads.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “The benefits of self-driving vehicles have the potential to be huge. Not only can they improve people’s access to education and other vital services, but the industry itself can create tens of thousands of job opportunities throughout the country.
"Most importantly, they’re expected to make our roads safer by reducing the dangers of driver error in road collisions.
"We want the UK to be at the forefront of developing and using this fantastic technology, and that is why we are investing millions in vital research into safety and setting the legislation to ensure we gain the full benefits that this technology promises.”
Motoring organisations have welcomed the move although AA president Edmund King warned that it is “quite a big leap” to go from assisted driving features such as adaptive cruise control to self-driving, while the RAC said that it would require “a real culture change”.
