Self-driving automobiles might be on British roads as early as 2026, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has stated.
Asked if individuals might quickly be travelling “with your hands off the wheel, doing your emails”, he agreed the prospect was potential in as little as three years’ time.
He informed the BBC: “I think that’s when companies are expecting – in 2026, during that year – that we’ll start seeing this technology rolled out.”
Mr Harper stated the innovation has “a huge number of potential uses”, together with bolstering highway security and making it simpler for disabled individuals to journey independently.
The Automated Vehicles Bill, which lays out a set of legal guidelines for utilizing autonomous autos, was launched into parliament in November, and the minister hopes it can go by each Houses by the top of 2024.
The transport secretary stated it was clear the self-driving know-how works from a roll-out in California, the place automobiles “without a safety driver, so in full, autonomous mode” are already on the roads.
“This technology exists, it works and what we’re doing is putting in place the proper legislation so that people can have full confidence in the safety of this technology, which I think is one of the important things we’ve got to do.”
The minister additionally claimed autonomous driving “will actually improve road safety” within the UK.
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“We already have a very good road safety record in Britain but there are still several thousand people a year killed on our roads,” Mr Harper stated. “That could be improved.”
“The final thing is, there are a lot of people who currently don’t have the opportunity to get the freedom that many of us drivers take for granted,” the minister added.
“For example, there are people who have disabilities, people with learning disabilities, who don’t have the same freedom that driving brings the rest of us.
“This probably opens up a complete new world for private freedom, attending to work, being able to not need to depend on different individuals.”
At present, while several manufacturers offer driver assistance technology, Tesla is the market leader in offering what it calls “full self-driving functionality”.
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Source: information.sky.com”