‘The fear is that drivers will think they don’t need to pay full attention’

They have long been a staple of science ction, but despite what you might have heard, cars that can drive themselves remain a fantasy.

From p52, we report on the rst independent tests of the ‘autonomous’ systems available today, and it’s clear that even the best of them don’t represent genuine driverless technology, but merely an increased level of driver assistance.

This still makes them worth specifying, because they’re sophisticated enough to prevent or mitigate some accidents when used correctly. However, the fear is that with all the hype, people will get into cars thinking that they don’t need to pay full attention – something that’s de nitely not the case.

Indeed, the day when someone can watch a movie, catch up with emails or take a nap while their car does the driving appears to be at least a generation away.