CHANCELLOR Philip Hammond is to be a passenger in a driverless car today, in a bid to prove how viable the technology is.
He said yesterday morning that fully self-driving, robotic vehicles, could be on UK roads within the next four years.
In his budget on Wednesday Hammond will announce regulation changes which will mean a new testing regime to allow car developers to run the autonomous vehicles out on British roads.
“Some would say that’s a bold move, but we have to embrace these technologies if we want the UK to lead the next industrial revolution,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.
Jaguar Land Rover recently began testing driverless cars on public roads in Coventry, but current rules mean a human must be on board to take control if possible
The chancellor said the industry would be worth £28bn to the UK economy by 2035, his liberalisation of the rules, will, he hopes, put Britain ahead of the US and Singapore.
Hammond was asked about the potential loss of jobs for drivers, there are fears the automation could see freight drivers, couriers, taxi drivers, delivery drivers, all unnecessary.
Hammond said the country could not “hide from change”.
Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has told of his fears about the technology, saying he was recently in a self-driving car which made two mistakes which could have killed him.
Writing in the Sunday Times magazine, Clarkson said the incidents convinced him the technology was still “a very long way off”.
“I drove a car the other day which has a claim of autonomous capability and twice in the space of 50 miles on the M4 it made a mistake, a huge mistake, which could have resulted in death,” he said. “We have to be very careful legally, so I’m not going to say which one.”
Mike Hawes, chief executive of UK motor industry lobby group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “We support government’s measures to make the UK one of the best places in the world to develop, test and sell connected and autonomous vehicles.
“These vehicles will transform our roads and society, dramatically reducing accidents and saving thousands of lives every year, while adding billions of pounds to the economy.”
Eric Schmidt, chairman of Alphabet, welcomed the move, saying “understanding of the principles and practices of computing is critical to developing a competitive workforce for the 21st century”.
He added: “The UK has already led the way in preparing for this future by making computer science education a part of the school curriculum.”
The only known self driving car fatality was last year in Florida, when a Tesla driver watching a Harry Potter movie crashed into a truck at high speeds.
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