Driverless cars to be on British roads in 6 months

Britain is to encourage the development of driverless cars for its roads, it was announced yesterday, with a multimillion-pound research fund and a review into relevant laws on road safety.

The business minister, Vince Cable, said a £10 million (HK$131 million) fund would be made available for driverless car researchers in the country, joint funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Department for Transport.

"The excellence of our scientists and engineers has established the UK as pioneers in the development of driverless vehicles through pilot projects," said Cable. "Today's announcement will see driverless cars take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the forefront of this transformational technology and opening up new opportunities for our economy and society."

The Department for Transport will also kick off a review process of the laws governing road use, including the Highway Code and the Road Safety Act, to permit the testing of driverless cars on public roads, Cable said.

Two types of testing will be reviewed for public roads: fully autonomous cars without a driver, and those with a qualified driver who could take control at any time, similar to laws in the US where driverless cars have been tested on public roads since 2011.

The review process will conclude in a report submitted to government by the end of the year, a spokesperson for the department said.