UK ‘could lead the way’ in driverless revolution

THE UK will become a world leader in testing driverless cars to ensure Britishbased manufacturers lead the way in developing the technology, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has pledged.

And the Government is to introduce legislation designed to deal with the question of who is to blame if a driverless car crashes.

A Bill will deal with the issue of insurance claims when a self-driving vehicle is involved in an accident.

The aim is to remove legal obstacles which prevent vehicles which drive themselves, known as intelligent or autonomous vehicles, from being tested on the streets of the UK.

Jaguar Land Rover is among firms investing millions into developing socalled autonomous vehicles.

Speaking to the Post, Mr Grayling said: “We will soon have a Bill that will do things like addressing the insurance issue for driverless cars. One of the issues as we develop driverless cars in this country is, if they crash who is responsible? If you are not driving the car, how can you be responsible if it’s driving itself?

“So we are going to be publishing legislation shortly that will clarify exactly how that should work in the UK. And I hope that will be part of giving us a good step ahead in terms of the regulatory environment for developing that technology in the UK.”

Legislation was likely to duced within weeks, he said.

The Transport Secretary predicted a gradual process in which automation increased as new models were introduced. The Government wants the UK to be a world leader in the new technology, he said.

Manufacturers build 1.5 million cars in the UK each year and the industry has a turnover of £71.6 billion.

Jaguar Land Rover last year announced plans for a fleet of more than 100 research vehicles over the next four years to test autonomous and connected technology. be intro-