Autonomous cars are part of the future we are already developing right now. Obviously, there are still things that need to be improved to make sure that it is completely safe, and the UK is confident that it can be achieved by 2026.
Self-Driving Cars in UK's Roads
There are already existing services that offer transport via robotaxis, but recent incident reports suggest that they are not ready to be more widely used. Still, we are already close to them being the preferred mode of transportation, and the UK is already preparing for it.
The country's transport secretary Mark Harper believes that autonomous vehicles could be on UK roads by 2026, and ministers are already looking to get around £42 billion of the international self-driving market in the coming decade, as reported by The Guardian.
Harper stated that the technology exists and works and that they are "putting in place the proper legislation so that people can have full confidence in the safety of this technology." The Secretary of State for Transport is pretty confident in the future of AVs.
When asked if people can travel with their hands completely off the wheel, the politician responded by saying yes, and that 2026 is the year when companies are expecting to see the technology rolled out.
Furthermore, Harper believes that it will actually improve road safety. Despite having a good road safety record in Britain, there are still a couple thousand road accidents that lead to people being killed, and that could be improved.
It also serves as an opportunity for people who have learning disabilities to get to where they want to go, and don't have the same freedom that driving brings to the rest. "This potentially opens up a whole new world for personal freedom, getting to work, having the ability to not have to rely on other people."
With the recent reports now, developers might have to work a little harder to reach the point of safety where AVs can be rolled out. The California Department of Motor Vehicles had received 673 reports of self-driving vehicle collisions, which is still far off from what can be deemed "safe."
The State of AVs Now
When you look at the records of companies that offer AV transport services, you might find that they are still too dangerous for the roads now. However, that could depend on which service you're looking into.
Cruise, for instance, doesn't have a good reputation, especially when it comes to the severity of the vehicular accidents it got into. For one, it was suspended in California after a Cruise robotaxi pinned a woman down under its wheel after she was thrown in its path.
Waymo, on the other hand, has a better record with just three minor injuries in its total 7.1 million miles of operations, as per Ars Technica. The company's data proves that human-driven vehicles are more likely to get into accidents than automated cars by up to seven times.
