House of Lords committee starting driverless cars inquiry
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will begin its inquiry on driverless vehicles and their future on UK roads on Tuesday (1 November). The Committee will hear evidence from government officials and leading academic experts. As previously reported, the development of driverless vehicles (also known as autonomous vehicles) has been steadily gaining momentum.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the Committee will first hear from: Ian Yarnold, from the International Vehicle Standards Division, Department for Transport; and Iain Forbes, from the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
In a statement sent by the House of Lords Press office to Post&Parcel today, Committee said that questions that it is likely to ask are:
- Can new autonomous vehicles operate safely, efficiently and effectively on existing infrastructure or will the UK have to make significant new investments?
- What are the anticipated benefits of Autonomous Vehicles? What problems might the increased deployment of autonomous vehicles cause?
- The USA has been researching autonomous vehicles since around 2008, is the UK doing enough in comparison to the USA or other countries?
- What ‘tools’ will be necessary for regulating, certifying or enforcing the software and artificial intelligence world of autonomous vehicles?
The hearing will then hear from: Professor David Lane, Professor of Autonomous Systems Engineering, Director of Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, Heriot-Watt University; Dr Rob Buckingham, Director, UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA); and Dr Simon Blackmore, Head of Engineering, Harper Adams.
The questions that the Committee are likely to ask of these experts include:
- Is it clear who is legally accountable for a vehicle that “thinks” for itself?
- To what extent can the UK devise its own regulations and standards for autonomous vehicles in these sectors and is there a need for international cooperation?
- What impact could autonomous vehicles have on employment?
The Winter 2016 edition of the Mail & Express Review includes a special focus on autonomous vehicles. If you are not an MER reader already, please click here for information on how to subscribe.
