MPs accused of taking eyes off the road for driverless cars following IMI survey
A survey of politicians conducted by IMI, the professional body for individuals working in the vehicle industry, has accused MPs of taking their eyes off the road when it comes to assessing the potential impact of driverless cars.
The poll found a ‘general lack of knowledge’ within the corridors of Westminster with close to half of all MPs against additional funding for driverless cars, despite it being UK government policy to trial such technology on British roads this year.
Similar levels of doubt were expressed in terms of safety and insurance implications with 42 and 51 per cent of respondents respectively voicing concern.
IMI chief executive Steve Nash said: “Even a cursory glance at the latest technology news shows a great deal of investment going into driverless vehicles. High profile companies including the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, Google, Nissan and even NASA are all now engaged. This technology is not going away. Even if we don’t see fully autonomous vehicles on sale in the next few years, the advancement in technology will have a huge impact on normal vehicles.
“MP’s are in danger of falling asleep at the wheel and need to start paying closer attention to the implications of these changes; both in terms of legislative issues and the large skills gaps it will create in the automotive workforce who maintain cars.”
In response to the report the IMI is calling for licensing to be introduced for vehicle technicians to end the present free for all where anyone can set themselves up to work on complex driver assist systems.