Would you trust a Volvo self-drive?
A SIGNIFICANT step towards a future of selfdriving cars was taken by the Government this week following the announcement that it will allow carmakers to sell vehicles with even more sophisticated levels of autonomy.
This will include models capable of steering around vehicles, overtaking other cars, and coming to a halt.
Volvo’s next generation XC90 out next year will be equipped with Highway Assist and allow drivers to do just that.
But crucially, the computer software needed to make it run won’t be activated until ministers give the green light on dedicated stretches of road for it to ‘go live’.
Many other manufacturers are similarly building in the kit ready for activation.
Most say fully ‘self-driving cars’ are still a long way off, but levels of what should more accurately be seen as ‘assisted driving’ technology are steadily being introduced.
Given the Government’s car-crash trackrecord on scrapping the hard shoulder on potentially lethal smart motorways, I’m guessing a lot of eager lawyers will now be brushing up on product liability law.