Driverless cars could be on roads in the UK 'as early as 2026', Transport ... trends now
Driverless cars could be allowed on Britain's roads and motorways 'as early as 2026' the Transport Secretary has revealed.
Mark Harper said its introduction in the UK would help cut fatalities on the country's roads as the vast majority of crashes are caused by 'driver error'.
The 53-year-old MP for Forest of Dean said he had seen how the technology was being used in California in the United States and wants to roll it out 'gradually' in Britain.
The Government has introduced legislation to change the law to allow driverless vehicles onto the roads, despite opposition from some critics who argue if brought in too early it could cause accidents.
However, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Harper said he wanted people have 'confidence' it would work as intended.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said driverless cars could be on Britain's roads 'as early as 2026'. Pictured: Mr Harper in Leicester Square on December 13
Mr Harper said he had seen the technology in action during a visit to the United States. Pictured: A Cruise AV, General Motor's autonomous electric Bolt EV in Detroit
'The legislation is going through parliament at the moment, so hopefully we'll get that through parliament by the end of 2024,' he said
'Probably by as early as 2026 people will start seeing some elements of these cars that have full self-driving capabilities being rolled out.'
Mr Harper added that it would be up to individual drivers whether they wanted to use it or not, and it would not be forced on anyone.
'It has a huge number of potential uses, the obvious one is 88 per cent or so of road traffic collisions we see today are caused by driver error of some description,' he said.
'There is a real potential for this sort of technology to actually improve safety on the roads, not just for drivers, not just for passengers, but for other vulnerable road users - pedestrians, cyclists - to really improve
