According to the new rules announced by the Ministry of Transport in the United Kingdom, drivers there will be allowed to watch TV while behind the wheel of a self-driving car. New rules should be introduced into the UK Roads Act as early as this summer.
Although this decision seems a bit controversial, some restrictions will still exist. Thus, for example, drivers will only be able to view the content via the vehicle’s built-in infotainment device. Namely, it is thought that the infotainment system will automatically shut down the moment the car needs the driver’s attention.
The use of telephones while driving remains illegal, and it should be noted that the new rules apply only to cars that are registered as self-driving under British law. But the UK Transport Ministry’s website, which is supposed to show such vehicles, is completely blank.
At the moment, it is not clear according to which criteria the car can be called “self-driving”, but the proposed rules clearly show that such vehicles will be significantly different from those that have the features of “assisted” or semi-autonomous driving.
The UK Ministry of Transport expects that the first self-driving vehicles could be ready for use later this year.
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