New rules for what you can and can't do in a self-driving car have been revealed today.
Self-driving cars are meant to help reduce accidents by reducing human error, which the Department for Transport said is responsible for 88% of crashes on UK roads. The government has today (April 20) announced plans for the rules that motorists will have to obey once self-driving cars are approved for UK roads.
Under draft Highway Code changes, some motorists may be able to watch films from behind the wheel of a driverless car, but may have other rules they need to stick to. The plans come ahead of full regulations that will be introduced in 2025 and as it stands, there are no vehicles approved for self-driving in Britain, the Mirror reports.
READ MORE: Drink driver banned from roads after walking away from scene of crash in Blyth
Here is everything we know so far about how the rules will work for motorists with self-driving cars.
Drivers can watch films behind the wheel
Changes to the Highway Code will allow drivers to continue to binge their favourite boxsets, watch a new film and surf the web in self-driving cars. As long as drivers keep in a single lane and below 37mph, motorists in autonomous vehicles could do this.
But this will only be allowed if drivers watch films on built-in screens, not separate devices like laptops and phones. This is because in the event of an emergency, on a built-in screen the film will cut out and the driver will be alerted.
You have to stay in the driving seat
Even if the car is driving, you have to remain in the driver's seat. This is because you may have to take control at short notice.
The Department for Transport said one Brit the rules were tested on was bamboozled by this, thinking they were even allowed to change seats and go to sleep while the car took over.
If the car crashes, it is not your fault
Provided the car is in self-driving mode, if the vehicle is involved in an accident it is not the owner's fault. Instead, insurance companies will be liable.
You can't use a phone at all
Even if the car is in control, it will still be illegal to use a phone behind the wheel.
The government said: "It will, however, still be illegal to use mobile phones in self-driving mode, given the greater risk they pose in distracting drivers as shown in research."
You have to be sober
Just like driving a normal car, if you are in a self-driving vehicle you have to be under the drink drive limits and not be under the influence of drugs.
You will still need MOTs, tax and insurance
Self-driving cars will still need to be kept up to date with safety checks and insurance just like other vehicles. Government guidance said: "The vehicle must be road legal (for example it must have an MOT certificate, if applicable and it must be taxed and insured) and the vehicle must be roadworthy."
Drivers might not have to pay speeding tickets
Owners of self-driving cars might not be criminally liable if the vehicles make mistakes - meaning drivers will not pay fines like speeding tickets. The government's legal advisers, the Law Commission, have suggested law changes making drivers immune from prosecution or fines if their robot car makes a mistake.
Currently, if the owner is driving the car then any errors are their fault. The proposed new laws would mean mistakes made by a car driving itself are not the owner's fault.
Instead, the car maker or designer of the self-driving car software will be responsible. The government said today insurers will be responsible, but it is still considering the Law Commission's proposals.
