Fair Rent, a prominent provider of car hire solutions in North East London, has reacted to news that driverless cars will hit UK roads by 2015

Government officials have announced that driverless vehicles are set to take a significant step forward in the United Kingdom, announcing that trials are in place to introduce automated cars to public roads within the next six months.

Leading media outlets, including the Telegraph and BBC, are reporting that as many as three cities in the UK will be selected as trial locations, purported to begin in January. However, cities will be required to proffer for a share of the £10million competition, and are currently being encouraged to partner up with leading researchers and businesses to put forward a proposal.

Outlining their vision, an official document released in July stated that the vehicle will: have a driver present but are capable of driving fully independently, using knowledge of the environment in which they are driving.

While the reaction has been largely positive, many have cast doubts over the feasibility and potential hazards of driverless cars. Commenting on the concern, RAC technical director, David Bizley, said:

“We suspect it will be difficult for people to come to terms with giving up control of their vehicle to a computer. Many vehicles already have features such as automatic breaking and it is claimed that driverless technology is able to identify hazards more effectively than a person can, but many motorists will be concerned about not being able to control the speed of their vehicle for the conditions or layout of the road.

“The biggest question for society has to be how we manage the transition from having just a few of these vehicles on the road initially to having a mix of both driverless and driven vehicles to finally having just driverless vehicles.”

The trials, which will run between 18 and 36 months, are set to monitor two different aspects of driverless technology: the first being fully driverless cars that don’t require a driver, and the other autonomous vehicles that require a legal driver who’s able to take control of it.

Fair Rent is a van and car hire company in London. The company has many years of experience in the industry and are known for frequently following and responding to relevant news. Reacting to news that autonomous cars could be on the road within a six month time frame, a representative for the company said:

“The concept of driverless cars is nothing new and has been a staple of sci-fi literature, films and television shows for the better part of the last century, and to see technologically evolving and the idea finally being realised is really exciting – especially for us as a leading provider of car hire.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing how this technology progresses and of course stocking such vehicles in the near future and providing customers with even more great car and van deals.”

Fair Rent is based in North East London and has budget and prestige cars available in Chingford and Enfield. Visit their website today at www.fairrent.co.uk to learn more.