The testing of driverless cars
on UK roads has today been given the green light by regulatory
authorities.
The government last year invested £19 million of funding for
driverless car trials, which are set to take place across
Greenwich, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Coventry. Now, following a
comprehensive, six-month review by the Department for Transport,
the trials are being scheduled to begin in the summer.
"Driverless cars are the future. I want Britain to be at the
forefront of this exciting new development, to embrace a technology
that could transform our roads and open up a brand new route for
global investment," said Transport Minister Claire Perry commenting on the
news.
The review has provided legal clarity for the "driving" of
autonomous vehicles on Britain's roads, which the government hopes
will encourage the automotive industry both in the UK and abroad to
come to the UK to test new vehicles. It also concluded that the
best and safest way to conduct trials was to make sure that an
individual is always ready to take control of a vehicle if
necessary -- which sounds like common sense to us.
Don't
miss
Research conducted by Samsung has shown that 55
percent of people in the UK would like to see smart traffic systems
rolled out in the next year to support congestion issues. "The
launch of the government's major review permitting the testing of
driverless cars on public roads further confirms Britain's position
as a leader in innovation. It is clear that UK consumers are keen
to be at the forefront of embracing advancements in technology and
the Internet of Things," said Andy Griffiths, president of Samsung
UK and Ireland.
The next step in the process that will have to take place before
the trials can officially begin is the introduction of a code of
practice -- scheduled to take place in the spring. The code will
provide the automotive industry with the requisite framework to
trial cars in real-life scenarios, as well as to upgrade existing
models of autonomous vehicles to be more sophisticated as trials
continue.
Source Article from http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-02/11/driverless-cars-uk-test http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/a_c/autonomous-car-1.jpg
Driverless cars given the green light for UK trials
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