Self-driving technology has been labelled as the 'future of driving' - but not everybody has been quick to embrace the technology, and many countries have been significantly hampered by legal hurdles - as insurers and legislators try to establish who should be held accountable in the event of a road traffic collision.
UK transport minister, Chris Grayling, expressed the importance of establishing legislation in relation to these issues in order to protect the public by allowing insurance on the cutting edge revolutionary technology used in the emerging industry. He said: "We must ensure the public is protected in the event of an incident and this week we are introducing the framework to allow insurance for these new technologies."
The new framework will allow a single insurance product to cover a driver when a vehicle is being used conventionally. In addition to this, it will also provide insurance for when the car is being utilized in autopilot mode.
The British government is keen to encourage the development and testing of autonomous driving technology in order to create an industry which could serve a market estimated to potentially worth around $900 billion pounds worldwide by the year 2025.
However, the public perception of this technology has been mixed, a recent collision involving a self-driving Google and a fatal accident with a Tesla model in autopilot have increased concerns among the general public, as auto manufacturers continue to test more and more autonomous cars on UK roads.
It has been disclosed that Japanese automaker Nissan will test its autonomous cars in London later this month - which followed an initial test in Milton Keynes late last year. Britain will also set out plans to improve infrastructure such as charging points for electric vehicles, the fastest growing sector for new car sales in the country and key to meeting environmental targets.