Encouraged by the UK's stance on driverless technology, Volvo announced plans earlier this month to begin testing 100 driverless cars in London within two years, building on a programme already announced in its home nation of Sweden. Volvo said the programme, called "Drive Me London", was drawn to the capital not only by the UK’s position on the Vienna Convention, but also by the road conditions. “If you want to run a pilot that tests the systems to the full, where else would be better than the complicated road environment and congestion of London?” said a spokesman for the company. Insurance is one of the key issues around driverless cars. Speaking at an industry event on the subject earlier this month, Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars, said his company would accept liability if one its cars were in a collision where its technology was at fault. Volvo has so far been the only car maker to issue such a strong statement on liability, showing its faith in driverless systems. James Dalton, a director at the Association of British Insurers, added: “Automated vehicles will be a safety revolution and this is why insurers are 100pc behind making driverless vehicles a reality on our roads. We are already working on how to shape the right framework to keep insurance as simple and straightforward as possible for the future of driving.”
The Queen announced a new transport bill in Parliament yesterday, unveiling plans that will allow drivers in the UK to legally insure autonomous vehicles in the near future. The reforms are designed to allow the testing and purchasing of autonomous cars in the UK, and when passed, will be the first legislation of its kind to cover an entire country. In order for this technology to become more widely available, it is important that we have proper regulation around it.