Driverless vehicles – the future for UK roads?

19 July 2016

These days you can’t move for stories about the future of travel on our roads involving driverless vehicles. It seems like the industry is gearing up for a big push into new areas of technology in a bid to improve road safety and congestion on our clogged-up roads. What is obvious is that we seem to be at the cusp of new thinking for roads and innovative solutions will play a significant role in shaping the future.

Vehicle technology continues to gather pace with self-parking, brake assistance and ‘heads-up’ displays commonly featuring among the many new things that motorists can call on to help with making journeys safer and smoother.  Driverless technology is another level again that could potentially allow road users to do different things altogether – imagine catching up with your latest book or newspaper at 70mph! Is this the future people want?  I’m interested to hear what road users have to say.

If driverless vehicles are indeed part of the solution to future transport needs, there will be an interesting period between the current norm on our roads and a future where actual driving is a thing of the past. Transport Focus is here to ensure that users of England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads have a voice. When it comes to the subject of driverless vehicles, we want to see road users’ views playing a major role in shaping the roads of the future.

From the proposed HGV platoon trials on the M6 in Cumbria to the cities trialling driverless vehicles, we are looking and listening to see that roads users are being consulted and their needs and views taken into account.

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