Fully autonomous cars on UK roads by 2021

Government is expected to unveil plans to make the UK a world leader in self-driving adoption in this week's Budget

Self-driving cars without a human behind the wheel could run freely on UK roads from 2021, the chancellor is set to announce in this week's Budget.

The plans by Philip Hammond are one of a host of measures intended to boost the automotive and technology industries.

A number of UK companies have recently ramped up testing of autonomous cars. Only last week, a partnership of Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Tata Motors confirmed it had taken its self-driving trial to public roads for the first time.

Greenwich in south London and Olympic Park in Stratford are also two key hubs for trials of autonomous cars.

However, these current trials must have a human in the driving seat in case something goes wrong. The new rules, which will mean a change to the Road Traffic Act, will allow testing without a driver at the wheel.

The plans will help the UK catch up with countries such as America and Singapore, both of which have been leading the way with self-driving research.

In the US, Uber is running a self-driving taxi service in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but drivers have needed to take control to avoid an incident on a number of occasions.

More notably, Google's self-driving firm Waymo announced earlier this month that it will now offer a fully autonomous taxi service in a suburb of Pheonix, Arizona without a driver behind the wheel.

By removing the current legal constraints, many of which still apply in mainland Europe and large parts of the US, Hammond will allow the UK to become a world leader in self-driving cars.

The news follows transport secretary Chris Grayling's announcement that car insurance policies will be overhauled to accommodate autonomous cars, one of the major issues surrounding their introduction.

Talking about the imminent Budget announcement, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “We support government's measures to make the UK one of the best places in the world to develop, test and sell connected and autonomous vehicles. These vehicles will transform our roads and society, dramatically reducing accidents and saving thousands of lives every year, while adding billions of pounds to the economy.

“We look forward to continuing industry's collaboration with government to ensure the UK can be among the first to grasp the benefits of this exciting new technology.”

Other initiatives expected to be announced in Wednesday's budget include a £400m pot for electric car charging points and £100m to boost clean car sales, which is likely to mean ongoing incentives for electric and hybrid.

The war on diesel drivers is also set to continue, with Hammond expected to either raise VAT on diesel fuel or create a new taxation on diesel vehicles.

src: appy-geek