The UK government says driverless vehicles could be on UK roads by 2025 and has announced £100m (around €118m) to fund research into developments in security.
According to government plans, cars, coaches and trucks with self-driving capabilities could hit the highways next year. New legislation is being drafted to enable a wider and safer deployment of driverless vehicles by 2025.
The government has also launched a consultation on a proposed “safety ambition” that would require a self-driving vehicle to be “as safe as a competent and careful human driver”, according to the Department for Transport’s announcement.
The government hopes to speed up the passage of new insurance and liability legislation so that manufacturers – not drivers – are responsible for accidents when the vehicle is in self-driving mode.
Security risks
However, the UK Government’s Center for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) report Responsible Innovation in Self-Driving Vehicles indicates that there is a long and complex road to travel if the public is to trust self-driving vehicles and rules governing their use.
There is a risk that the public will reject driverless vehicles if they are not deemed safe enough, warns the CDEI.
“Average improvements in road safety, even if they can be clearly demonstrated, will not engender public confidence if crashes are seen as the fault of faceless tech companies or lax regulation rather than fallible human drivers. “, indicates the CDEI in its report.
For the public to see self-driving vehicles as equivalent to trains or planes, they must “expect a 100x improvement in average safety compared to manually driven vehicles. »
Professor Jack Stilgoe of University College London, who advised the CDEI, told the BBC that setting the level of safety for driverless cars should be a democratic decision. “The danger is entering a world where these changes are happening to suit only one mode of transport – and where the benefits are not spreading very widely,” he said.
Operating conditions to be defined
The CDEI believes that driverless cars should be clearly marked so people know which “agents” they are sharing the road with. He also worries that technology could create pressure to change roads and traffic rules to accommodate driverless cars.
To build public trust, CDEI recommends rules that require technology makers to explain the conditions under which driverless vehicles can operate, such as road types, locations, weather, and the behavior of other road users. road.
He notes that, to reduce their liability, technology companies are incentivized to narrowly define the operational design domain of self-driving vehicles, i.e. the operating conditions under which the vehicle automation system driving is specifically designed to work.
The CDEI recommends that persons with disabilities are also consulted to ensure that the regulations are inclusive.
“There is a need for continued dialogue and social research to deepen understanding of public views on accountability, labeling, explainability of decisions made by VAs, and possible infrastructure changes as AV systems are expanding and developing. »
The answers to these questions will impact “security (infrastructure), acceptability of AVs (labelling, explainability) and liability and obligation to provide compensation (liability),” the CDEI says.
Product deliveries and airport shuttles
The government estimates that allowing self-driving cars on UK roads could create up to 38,000 jobs and add £42 billion to the economy.
Of the total £100m package, the government today confirmed £34m for research to ‘support safety developments and inform more detailed legislation’, along with £20m of books to “boost commercial self-driving services and enable businesses to grow.” He sees potential in food deliveries and airport shuttles, building on the £40million already invested.
The government hopes the consultation on “safety ambitions” will set standards for self-driving vehicles, including whether penalties should be imposed on manufacturers if their technology fails to meet those standards.
The CDEI report builds on proposals from a January report by the Legal Commission on how to regulate driverless vehicles.
Source: ZDNet.com