Look no hands! Trials of driverless cars in London begin today

The future is here, and it’s moving at 15mph

The eerie spectacle of a driverless vehicle gliding past will soon move from the realm of the horror film to reality.

Tests of driverless cars are to begin in Greenwich as of today.

But could this be the dawn of a new age for commuters? According to the Evening Standard, the average driver spends 235 hours a year stuck at the wheel, simply driving, when they might be otherwise engaged.

This could equal six weeks a year of new free time for drivers as they are ferried about in pods chauffeured by computers.

The government would like the UK to become a world leader when it comes to driverless vehicles, and it is set to publish a code of practice in the coming months which will allow further testing of autonomous cars to go ahead.

This will include re-writing the Highway Code and adjustments to MoT guidelines.

The autonomous vehicles hitting the roads around Greenwich today are electric buggies that have the non-threatening appearance of a milk-float crossed with a golf cart.

Take a closer look at one of the new #DriverlessCars#BusinessisGREAThttps://t.co/1WDXisVWeX

— Dept for Business (@bisgovuk) February 11, 2015

 

Testing is also taking place in Coventry and Milton Keynes. But instead of the milk/golf waggon, some pretty flashy two-person pods have been unveiled.

The new driverless car, built in Coventry, has been unveiled: http://t.co/u015AhAHiwpic.twitter.com/E140nF0LHg

— BBC Cov Warks (@BBCCovWarks) February 11, 2015

 

The driverless cars will run at 15mph, which is by no means a profligate pace, but given that the average driving speed in central London between 7am and 7pm is a piddling 8mph, they can certainly keep up.

Cycle concern

As part of the trials, Greenwich Council has temporarily closed some cycle lanes to accommodate the driverless cars.

According to a planning notice, the riverside lanes will be closed for 21 days.

Oh dear – @Royal_Greenwich is closing a stretch of riverside cycle lane for driverless cars @GreenwichCyclepic.twitter.com/Z8KLaqKVCR

— Darryl (@darryl1974) February 9, 2015

 

Back to the future

Despite lots of tests being underway, experts predict that it will still be at least a decade until we’re whirling along the roads in private computer-chauffeured pods. It’s not that long really.

A fundamental battle which must be won will be in convincing the public that driverless cars are safe and useful.

In a similar way to how we are now used to people apparently talking and gesticulating to themselves on the street as they yap into earpieces, perhaps autonomous vehicles will scarcely raise an eyebrow when they slither past us in the years to come.

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