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Limited to speeds of up to 37mph on motorways, Automated Lane Keeping Systems in vehicles have been offered a route to their legal introduction on UK roads.
The Department for Transport claimed that the technology could improve road safety by reducing human error, which contributes to over 85 per cent of accidents. The driver will be able to hand control over to the vehicle, which will constantly monitor speed and keep a safe distance from other cars, it said.
Self-driving technology in cars, buses, and delivery vehicles could spark the beginning of the end of urban congestion, with traffic lights and vehicles speaking to each other to keep traffic flowing, reducing emissions and improving air quality in our towns and cities, DfT said.
April 29, 2021
published at 3:17 AMReuters
An interior view shows a self-driving car owned and tested by Yandex company during a presentation in Moscow, Russia, on Aug 16, 2019.
Reuters
The UK government on Wednesday (April 28) 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 use sensors and software to keep cars within a lane, allowing them to accelerate and brake without driver input.
Self-driving cars to be allowed on UK roads this year
By Cristina Criddle
image copyrightGetty Images
image captionDrivers will be allowed to take their hands off the wheel if ALKS is enabled
Self-driving vehicles could be allowed on UK roads by the end of this year, the government has said.
The Department for Transport said automated lane-keeping systems (ALKS) would be the first type of hands-free driving legalised.
The technology controls the position and speed of a car in a single lane but only up to speeds of 37mph (60km/h)
But insurers have warned the government s definition of ALKS as self-driving is misleading.
28 April 2021
The Department for Transport (DfT) has outlined plans for cars equipped with Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) to be legally defined as self-driving, which would legalise hands-off operation of such cars at low speeds.
Essentially, if approved, the move represents the first step towards allowing certain cars to drive themselves on UK roads. Some cars are already fitted with ALKS, but it s illegal for a driver to remove their hands from the wheel, because these cars aren t classified as self-driving.
If they re granted type approval and there s no evidence to challenge the vehicle s ability to self-drive , these cars could be allowed to operate independently of the driver on motorways at speeds of less than 37mph by the end of the year.
28th April 2021 11:10 am
Automotive safety experts and insurers have urged caution over today’s announcement that vehicles fitted with ALKS could be legally defined as self-driving.
Image by xenostral from Pixabay
The announcement from the Department for Transport sets out how vehicles with Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS) technology could legally be defined as self-driving provided ‘they receive GB type approval and that there is no evidence to challenge the vehicle’s ability to self-drive’.
The decision to allow ALKS vehicles on UK roads later this year follows a call for evidence in August 2020.
Designed for motorway use in slow traffic, ALKS enables a vehicle to drive itself in a single lane whilst maintaining the ability to return control to the driver when required. A consultation on The Highway Code rules has also been launched to ensure the first wave of this technology is used safely and responsibly.