The UK government has consistently given the 'green light' to driverless cars, investing significant funds to support testing projects for autonomous driving. Although driverless technology is not yet fully accepted by the public, emerging innovative technologies are gradually making it a reality. Recently, the UK government announced that it will begin testing driverless cars on motorways in 2017. Immigrating to the UK friends will be able to enjoy the convenience and fun of driverless driving in the near future.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will announce plans this Wednesday to test driverless cars on motorways. He stated that the UK government will adopt several recommendations to remove regulatory barriers for autonomous driving technology. In an announcement, Osborne said: "We need to ensure safety, which is exactly the purpose of our testing. If successful, we will see driverless cars go on sale and be driven on UK roads. This will create jobs and improve efficiency."
The UK government estimates that the global market for autonomous driving technology is worth approximately 900 billion pounds (about 1.29 trillion US dollars). However, some legal hurdles remain to be resolved, such as who should be held responsible in the event of an accident.
The UK Department for Transport previously stated that in these driverless car tests, vehicles must be equipped with a human driver who can take control of the car when necessary.
Last Friday, US traffic safety regulators stated that there are still many legal obstacles to be resolved before driverless cars without steering wheels and accelerator pedals can be sold.
Google hopes to launch fully autonomous cars that do not require human operation, while several automakers are also developing cars capable of autonomous driving under certain conditions.