Driverless cars on British roads will be required to have a backup driver who holds a United Kingdom driving license and can take control of the vehicle at any moment, newly codified government rules say.
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The government fund is part of its £100m commitment to research so-called “intelligent mobility” as announced by George Osborne in the spring Budget.
Our world beating automotive industry, strengths in innovation and light touch regulatory approach to testing driverless technology combine to make the United Kingdom market competitive and an attractive destination for investors.
Funding will then be awarded to the bidder with the most innovative approach to developing the technology, with the best proposal having to match the £20m grant with their own money.
“Driverless cars will bring great benefits to our society and economy and I want the United Kingdom to lead the way in developing this exciting technology”, transport minister Andrew Jones said. It has since introduced a joint policy unit, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C-CAV), to coordinate government policy on driverless cars.
The scheme will however see the United Kingdom compete against other countries investing heavily in driverless cars, Detroit in the USA having just opened the $10m (£6.4m) Mcity testing ground on Monday, backed by the likes of Toyota, GM and Honda.
The government is offering £20 million to research and develop driverless cars and fast-track the technology within the UK. This includes plans to test new roadside communication technology to improve traffic flow and safety through “connected corridors”, providing drivers with useful journey and safety information.
The code of practice provides industry with the framework they need to safely trial cars in real-life scenarios, and to create more sophisticated versions of the models that already exist.
The code also stipulates that when autonomous vehicles are ready to be brought to market that a timetable needs to be put in place for updating and clarifying changes to legislation.
The investment was announced alongside a code of practice for testing, which will govern their development and use, two things that demonstrate the UK’s motivation in making the upcoming smart vehicle technology a reality.
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“It sets the scene for the safe evaluation and development of highly and fully automated vehicles for years to come and is another example of how the United Kingdom is leading the charge in this area”.
