Driverless cars on M40 in three years

DRIVERLESS cars will be deployed on UK motorways in the next three years, a group of technology firms has announced.

The project, described as the most complex autonomous vehicle trial anywhere in the world, will culminate in driverless cars travelling from London to Oxford on the M40 by 2019.

The Driven consortium said the vehicles will perform “all safetycritical driving functions” and monitor road conditions for an entire trip.

An £8.6 million grant from the Government will contribute towards the scheme.

A major part of the work will feature a fleet of six autonomous vehicles able to communicate with each other.

The project will also examine data protection, cyber security and how driverless cars should be insured.

The Government is investing £100 million in testing infrastructure to develop autonomous driving technology.

This will include the creation of a “cluster of excellence” along the M40 corridor, using testing centres in Birmingham, Coventry, Oxford, Milton Keynes and London.