Driverless Cars to Hit UK Streets Soon

Here at eTeknix, we love to hear about the latest car technology; it’s nice to see how it has progressed over the years. Lately, we have been very interested in electric vehicles (EV’s) and autonomous/driverless cars.

In recent weeks, we have heard of the green light for Google to release driverless cars onto the public highway in California and now it seems that the UK are following suit. We are still in testing stages due to the massive public fear that autonomous cars aren’t safe to be in or around while they are active on the road; Google has quashed those fears, but some are still against the idea. The testing locations will be Bristol, Coventry, Milton Keynes and Greenwich (London).

This isn’t exactly a surprise considering how well the US has taken driverless cars, but the UK will be the first in Europe to lead the way in allowing these vehicles to use the road.  In a statement, Transport Minister Claire Perry said “the trials present a fantastic opportunity for this country to take a lead internationally in the development of this new technology.” This is a huge step forward considering the likes of Volvo are ready to ship driverless cars to the UK consumer market; they have to wait until 2017 before Sweden will allow them on the roads.

How do you feel about these vehicles being allowed on the streets of the UK? Let us know in the comments.

Thank you to ArsTechnica for providing us with this information.