Autonomous or self-driving cars have been on the roads of the UK for several years as part of various technical trials, but always with a safety driver sitting behind the wheel ready to take command in an emergency. Now it has been revealed that the first ‘unmanned’ driverless cars won’t appear until the second half of 2027 at the earliest - a year later than the date promised by the last government.
It was this time last year when the previous government’s Automated Vehicles Act became law, with ministers then stating ambitions for self-driving cars to be operating on UK roads without human ‘safety drivers’ as soon as 2026. However, the Department for Transport is now winding back expectations on the timing, while remaining strongly committed to the technology.
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