Mark Harping on.

According to this Auto Express story, A new law is set to bring self-driving cars to UK roads in two years and puts responsibility in the hands of manufacturers if there is an accident.

No it won't.

The article goes on to clarify...

The vehicles must “achieve a level of safety at least as high as careful and competent human drivers”.

That's not going to happen in two years.

Plus "the government says the legal culpability will be placed firmly on the manufacturer, as well as the insurance company that covers the car, with the driver not deemed a driver per se, but a user-in-charge"

So even if they could find a manufacturer happy to risk some prosecutions for causing death by dangerous driving - the insurance companies will refuse to insure such usage.  Which is a shame because this law would be the get-out clause allowing me to drive to a party or pub, get somewhat inebriated, and be driven home by my own car.

The landlords of country pubs will like this law.

Mark Harper, who is our current Transport Secretary apparently, jumped on the bandwagon stating, "Britain stands at the threshold of an automotive revolution, and this new law is a milestone moment for our self-driving industry which has the potential to change the way we travel forever.”

No it doesn't.

He also turned up polluting one of my favourite Youtube channels the other being "interviewed" by Steph from idriveaclassic  - I don't know if she is a bit Tory but she gave him an easy time and let him make snide comments about Labour and the London ULEZ zone without pointing out that it was Boris Johnson who introduced it and it is the government that is forcing the metropolitan councils to hit stricter air pollution target levels - not that that is a bad thing.

I was quite amused though that he and several of the anti-electric brigade commenting on the video seemed completely oblivious that he was stood next to a Rolls-Royce Phantom II that had been converted over to run on...

...ELECTRICITY!

Here's some info on it.

Anyway, back to his comment about Britain being at the threshold of an automotive revolution.

It isn't.

We now have to compete with Europe as well as Korea and Japan and the like but the Chinese are miles ahead - especially when it comes to electric vehicles.  They are even after a share of our London buses.  Autocar have finally decided that I don't have an ad-blocker after all so I can share this story now.

If Autocar thinks that you have an ad-blocker you won't be able to read this so I'll give you the gist.

This is the BYD BD11...

The Chinese hope that this EV will be the replacement for the hybrid Wrightbus New Routemaster - which I was surprised to learn was only built from 2011 to 2017.  A thousand were built - in the UK - before the company went into administration.

Charging is possible at up to 500kW via a pantograph connection which sounds fun, trolleybus anyone? - but you can plug it into the mains too.  A usable range of more than 400 miles is being suggested.

BYD UK's commercial vehicle managing director Frank Thorpe said he "hopes" it can replace Wrightbus's New Routemaster as the default London bus.

Seems legit.

Taxi for Idiot

If you are going to steal a car, it's probably not a good idea to choose one that can be controlled from elsewhere with lots of cameras in it.

And if someone in control of the vehicle tells you to get out, then it's probably a good idea to get out.

The twerp in this story got arrested.

Yet another adventure in the life of San Francisco's self-drive taxis.

Not über Intelligent

Or even über artificial intelligent.

This BBC story tells of how Uber has pulled its self-driving cars from the roads after an accident which left one of the vehicles on its side on Arizona.

Looks nasty:

The car itself looks nice though - it must really pay to be an Uber Driver if they can afford new Volvo SUVs - especially with self-driving technology.

Uber have stated that the car was in self-driving mode at the time.

The allegation in this case is that another driver "failed to yield".

Which is why I don't like the idea of self-driving cars.  Most drivers rate themselves as having above-average driving skills.  This is actually impossible but even the best driver in the world cannot do anything if someone else acts unexpectedly and hits them.  The way things stand at the moment - self-driving cars still need someone behind the wheel to take over in the case of an emergency.  In which case that person has to be fully alert at all times to what is going on around them - I know I would want to be!  But that completely negates the point of a self-driving vehicle.

I'm quite concerned in this case as to how the car ended up on its side - was it travelling too fast?  - did it clip the kerb? - did the driver panic when the other car was suddenly in its path?

We know SUVs tend to topple a lot easier than normal cars but even so.

Is this what is known as doing a bit of taxi driving on the side?

Mercedes Bends (the rules)

A couple of Mercedes self-driving stories caught my eye today.

Looks like they've been a bit naughty in their advertising Stateside.  Autoguide have the story here.  Mercedes have been forced to pull a TV ad for the E-Class in  which a narrator says,

“Is the world truly ready for a vehicle that can drive itself? Ready or not, the future is here.”

The ad also shows the driver removing his hands from the steering wheel, leading to the argument that people will believe the car is full self-driving.

Meanwhile the small-print caption on the ad states,

“Vehicle cannot drive itself, but has automated driving features. The system will remind the driver frequently to keep hands on the steering wheel. Always observe safe driving practices and obey all road traffic regulations.”

Hmmm.  I can see why it was dropped.

This doesn't bode well when the you read the second story, found in Car+Driver here.  The headline reads "Mercedes-Benz and Tesla See a Future in Electric Self-Driving Buses"  The story goes on to talk about The Mercedes-Benz Future Bus, a semi-automated city bus with a technology suite that can allow it to journey up to 12.4 miles without a need for the driver to touch the steering, accelerator, or brake pedal. The Future Bus can spot obstacles and pedestrians, follow lane markings, and function as part of a new Bus Rapid Transit system.

It looks nice too...

 

I wonder what the small-print says - this bus won't journey up to 12.4 miles without a need for the driver to touch the steering, accelerator, or brake pedal and it can't spot obstacles and pedestrians, follow lane markings, and function as part of a new Bus Rapid Transit system?

And I bet it can't do what this Chilean bus-driver did: