UK opens door for self-driving vehicles as early as this year
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Tesla already uses something similar to ALKS known as Autopilot
Britain is set to allow self-driving vehicles with a possibility the first driver-assist models might be on roads by the end of the year, the government said today.
Alongside a call for evidence about self-driving systems, the Department of Transport said it was working on changes to the Highway Code to enable the use of vehicles equipped with Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) – a system of sensors and software that keep a vehicle within a lane, accelerate and brake without a driver.
Self-driving cars enabling drivers to take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel could be permitted on UK motorways later this year. The Department for Transport (DfT) announced it will allow hands-free driving in vehicles with lane-keeping technology on motorways with slow traffic, at speeds of up to 37mph. It has set out how a vehicle with an automated lane keeping system (ALKS) could legally be used by a driver not paying attention, as long as there is no evidence to “challenge the ability” of it to be used autonomously. ALKS enables a motorist to hand over control to their vehicle, although they must be available to resume the driving task.
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Cars will require no human intervention on motorways at low speeds 29 April 2021 - 05:00 Reuters and Motor News Reporter The end goal is to have fully autonomous cars that can drive themselves in all conditions.
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British drivers will soon be able to read a newspaper or watch a movie while driving in certain conditions.
The UK government on Wednesday became the first country to announce it will regulate the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways, with the first such cars possibly appearing on public roads as soon as this year.
Britain s transport ministry said it was working on specific wording to update the country s highway code for the safe use of self-driving vehicle systems, starting with Automated Lane Keeping Systems (Alks) which is a hybrid of adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance.
Business giants press EU to ban petrol and diesel car sales by 2035
Ikea, Uber and Sky are among a coalition of 27 businesses urging the EU to ban new petrol and diesel car sales by 2035, in light of the bloc s long-term net-zero vision.
Pictured: The Volvo XC40 Recharge. Volvo is one of the 27 business signatories
In an open letter sent to lawmakers earlier this week, the businesses state that such a move would “put Europe on the pathway to deliver emissions reductions in line with what is needed to meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement” while “providing a clear signal to automotive manufacturers and suppliers” and firms in related sectors. This signal, it states, will help governments work with the private sector to deliver “timely investments” at the scale needed.