Government funding of £20m has been made available for collaborative research and development into driverless vehicles, along with a code of practice for testing.
It was hoped that the measures, announced by business secretary Sajid Javid and transport minister Andrew Jones, would put the UK at the forefront of the intelligent mobility market, expected to be worth £900bn by 2025.
Transport minister Andrew Jones said: ‘Driverless cars will bring great benefits to our society and economy and I want the UK to lead the way in developing this exciting technology. Our code of practice clearly shows that the UK is in the best position when it comes to testing driverless cars and embracing the motoring of the future.’
In the US recently, a modified Lexus SUV became Google's first self-driving car to have an accident in which passengers were injured. Google said the car was hit from the rear by another vehicle
Three employees inside the car were taken to hospital with whiplash symptoms, while the driver of the other vehicle complained of neck and back pain.
It was the 14th instance of an accident involving a Google driverless car – all of which said to be the result of human error.