MOTORING
pivotal moment in British motoring is expected to happen this year. By the end of 2019,
self-driving vehicle, and indeed, keen motorists may not relish handing over a skill they enjoy – having control behind the wheel. As someone who really enjoys driving, I’m with them on that. But this is the future, and many of us would be happy to let the car do the work along a boring stretch of motorway, while we read a newspaper or browse the internet on phone or tablet. So, what is it like to be a passenger in a car with nobody driving? Weird. Brave new world. Initially like something out of science fiction. I first experienced it four years ago, on a busy ring road around Gothenburg in Sweden, the home city of Volvo. Back then, many of us had routinely sniggered at the rather strange- looking, peculiarly upright little Google autonomous car that had made headlines around the world when it was showcased in California. It looked like a bit of a joke car, and it all seemed a very long way off, both time-wise and geographically. So, when I received an invitation from Volvo to go to Sweden and experience
the first autonomous cars (self-driving, driverless, call them what you choose) will begin trials on UK roads. Until now, completely autonomous, fully driverless cars have only been tested on a limited scale on roads in the US and Europe. Now, the Department for Transport has announced advanced trials before the end of this year, with the aim of pushing the UK to the forefront of this pioneering technology. For several years now, the latest models of new cars have been loaded with semi-autonomous features: automatic braking, lane-keeping tech, adaptive cruise control, cross-traffic alert and braking – all designed to protect the car in changing road conditions, but also preparing for a driverless future. At least one car, a Mercedes, is already capable of being driven autonomously, but this ability is disabled in order to comply with current regulations. Most drivers have yet to experience what it’s like as a passenger in a
Autonomous cars are coming, but what’s it like being a passenger in these futuristic
self-driving vehicles? Sue Baker finds out
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ISSUE 01
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