Driverless cars to be tested on public roads by the end of the year

According to UK Government, driverless cars are going to be tested on Public roads by the end of this year. So far, trials of the autonomous vehicles in the UK have taken place on private land only. The cars are guided by a series of cameras and sensors and are actually seen as potentially a lot safer and more efficient than our regular vehicles.

A back up driver will be riding along during these tests as a safety measure and so they can take over in case of an emergency.

The plans were unveilved in blueprints from the Department for Transport as part of an investment for British roads to reduce congestion. Driverless vehicles can apparently drive on their own using environment knowledge about where they are driving. The vehicles will keep a safe distance away from the vehicle at the front of it at a set speed, without deviating from the lane they are driving in, this is all without the input of the driver.

At the moment, the cars will be driven on lightly used suburban and rural roads in a semi autonomous mode, which gives passengers the choice to be able to intervene if they need or want to. The vehicles will be tested by the same Oxford University team of researchers who have been testing and developing the autonomous car technology on a Nissan Leaf model around Oxford Science Park.

The vehicle technology uses small cameras and lasers to be able to memorise regular journeys such as the school run or the commute.

The UK announcement follows public trials in different parts of the world, with the United States leading the way, with Florida, California and Nevada all passing legislation around autonomous cars.