Plans for new legislation to allow self-driving cars on UK roads have recently been announced by the government. Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, claims that we could see driverless cars on UK motorways by the end of 2026.
Self-driving automated vehicles won’t require passengers to keep an eye on the road, raising road safety concerns from critics. The US and China have already seen automated vehicles make strides on their roads, but the UK has yet to see the same technological step due to these concerns.
Mark Harper says: “The legislation is going through parliament at the moment, so hopefully we’ll get that through parliament by the end of 2024. Probably by as early as 2026 people will start seeing some elements of these cars that have full self-driving capabilities being rolled out.
“It has a huge number of potential uses, the obvious one is 88% or so of road traffic collisions we see today are caused by driver error of some description. There is a real potential for this sort of technology to actually improve safety on the roads, not just for drivers, not just for passengers, but for other vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists – to really improve road safety, which is a real win for everybody.”
Driving-assist technology is already present in some car models, keeping drivers within the correct lane position and in line with surrounding traffic. However, there is only one model at present that allows drivers to take their hand off the wheel – the Ford Mustang Mach E.
While there is still a long way to go before this technology is the norm, it may be closer than we realise. For more road safety news, check out the Anglo Liners blog. Alternatively, for a free no-obligation quote, get in touch.