What You Need To Know Before You Get In A Driverless Car

Autonomous vehicles can take much of the danger out of driving, but they also present us with new problems to solve. So what needs to be figured out before the technology gets the green light?

- Rob Banino

Remove humans from the driving equation and cars will be safer. That’s the thinking behind the push for autonomous vehicles – and the reason why, like it or not, they’re coming to our roads.

“Autonomous vehicles reduce the risk of collisions, and that’s recognised by insurers,” says Ian Crowder from the Automobile Association (AA) in the UK. “If the technology proves to be much more reliable than humans, who can be subject to tiredness, stress or distraction… there’s every possibility that situations that would typically lead to collisions will be removed.”

Safer cars and safer roads are attractive prospects, in both human and financial terms. According to the Department of Transport and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, the intelligent mobility market is estimated to be worth £900bn annually globally by 2025. This is why car manufacturers are pushing to develop the vehicles, and why the UK government is investing heavily to help them. Last year saw £39m of a £100m fund awarded to projects working on enhanced communication systems between vehicles and roadside infrastructure, and trials of autonomous vehicles in Greenwich, Bristol and Milton Keynes.