All cars on UK roads could be “highly automated” by 2040 and fully driverless just ten years later, according to a report.

Driverless cars to take over UK roads by 2050.

Driverless cars to take over UK roads by 2050. Image by The NRMA / CC BY 2.0

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) made the prediction as it demanded urgent action from the Government and the motor industry to encourage development of the technology. The study found that it will take ten years to get innovations onto the production line and a further ten to 15 years for the majority of the UK fleet to be changed. Highly automated vehicles – including features such as adaptive cruise control and mapping of other road users – will be able to complete sections of a journey without driver control and could make up all UK cars by 2040, IMechE predicted.

The report stated that a public consultation involving manufacturers, legislators and regulators should be launched to consider how autonomous vehicles can be successfully integrated into the road network. IMechE stated that there will be a “shift” in insurance from drivers to product liability and also urged the Department for Transport to ensure road signs and markings are updated.

Philippa Oldham, author of the report, warned that “much more action” was required to promote the technology. She said: “We need to urgently resolve legislative, technological and insurance issues to help encourage the roll-out of autonomous or driverless vehicles. The benefits to this sort of technology are huge, with estimates that the overall UK economic benefit could be as much as £51 billion a year due to fewer accidents, improved productivity and increased trade. Currently 95% of all crashes happen due to driver error, so it makes sense for Government, industry and academia to redouble efforts to look at how we phase out human involvement in driving vehicles. There needs to be much more action from Government to help integrate driverless vehicles into the current UK transport network.”

Earlier this month the Government announced it will invest £20 million in eight driverless car projects across the country. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin claimed the technology will “profoundly change the way we travel” by reducing accidents, helping traffic flow and making it easier to travel by car.

(Press Association)