The UK wants to launch ‘solo’ cars later this year

The British government has said that partial control by autonomous cars or computers will allow it to operate in the UK by the end of this year – basically, the country will now allow cars to be driven by cars that “drive alone”. The country’s Department of Transportation said. Vehicles with steering assist systems that control acceleration, alley and brake positioning can operate on highways at a maximum speed of 60 km / h – but what does this mean in practice?

The new law is in the final stages of approval, and states that drivers do not need to keep their hands on the wheel or focus on the road from a particular location on a road or roadway and allow the system to control the car. For general safety, if humans are required to drive again, the law requires vehicles to emit a signal – and if not redirected within 10 seconds, the system will slow down and turn on the emergency lights.

Nissan autonomous vehicle tested last year

Therefore, it is not about complete autonomy or without the involvement of one person in driving the vehicle – Standard Level 3 considers autonomy in which there is a distinction between computers and humans. The initiative is aimed at reducing congestion and mainly reducing traffic accidents: according to studies, 85% of accidents in the country are caused by human errors, which are canceled due to computer use.

The idea is that this law will reduce accidents and traffic in the UK

However, there is controversy over the expectations of autonomous cars in the country for improvements to traffic and traffic safety in general. A 2019 study by the University of California found that self-driving cars can actually worsen traffic in big cities. In addition, there have already been some accidents involving computer-driven cars under test – such as the one in which an autonomous Uber ran into a test in the US state of Arizona and killed pedestrian Elaine Hersberg.