Issue of the day: Driverless cars

A Tthe dawn of a new decade, plans are afoot for driverless cars to be in full use within the next 10 years, revolutionising travel.

In the UK?

Driverless cars have already taken to the road with human passengers in Britain for the first time, with trials beginning in parts of London, in a bid to test the technology.

The cars, designed by UK firm, Fiveai, began carrying one of 130 volunteers daily on a circuit through busy roads in Bromley and Croydon in October.

Hopes are high?

UK Transport Secretary, Grant

Shapps, said the trials were a “major step” toward driverless cars becoming a common sight in the UK, with the Government already having pledged to see the first driverless cars in full use on “UK roads by 2021”.

I’m thinking of KITT and Herbie? If you are of a certain age, it’s likely these self-driving vehicles will race to the forefront of your mind.

In the 1980s show Knight Rider, David Hasselhoff starred as crime fighter Michael Knight, who used his high-tech, artificially intelligent car, to aid him, while Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle from the series of Disney movies – including 1968’s The Love Bug – had a mind of its own and drove itself.

But this is real life?

The next few years are seen as pivotal in the journey toward getting self-driving cars on the road and in Scotland one of the first major projects will see a trial of the first autonomous full-sized bus fleet running between Fife and Edinburgh, via the Forth Road Bridge, with £4.35m partfunding from the UK government.

In China?

Autonomous buses are already on the road in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, where they are able to change lanes, avoid obstacles, overtake other vehicles, stop at bus stops, apply emergency braking and drive through intersections.

But Peng Nengling, vice president of the manufacturer, Yutong Group Intelligent Network Research Institute, pointed out safety is still given a higher priority than efficiency.

He points out “Humans can predict moves by the vehicles around them” and the technology is yet to reach that point.

Scotland wants a slice of the tech action?

Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said this week that Scotland is “open for business” to develop driverless vehicles, adding that he wants the country to be at the forefront of the testing and development of self-driving automobiles.

It’s the next big thing for the car industry?

A raft of car giants and tech firms are working on their own vehicles, with Waymo (a subsidiary of Google owner Alphabet) at the forefront, and others leading the way including Toyota and Ford. Waymo has been trialling a selfdriving taxi service in Arizona.

Asleep at the wheel?

Tech billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk, pledged last February that his company Tesla’s selfdriving cars will be so advanced by the end of 2020 that people will be able to sleep while the car drives to its destination.