Driverless cars are to be tested on roads in Greenwich, Milton Keynes and Coventry, and Bristol from next month after the area’s bids to run the trials were approved in a competition.

£10m of funding from Innovate UK, the Technology Strategy Board sponsored by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, will allow the testing of driverless cars in a real-world environment in a bid to achieve “greater levels of understanding of these vehicles”. The trials, Innovate UK said, would also “allow the public to accept how the vehicles will fit into everyday life”.

The Government wants to establish the UK as the global hub for the research, development and integration of driverless vehicles. The DfT intervened to put in place a study of driver and other road user reactions to the driverless vehicles “to reassure the public”.

Nick Jones, lead technologist for the low carbon vehicle innovation platform at Innovate UK, said: “Cars that drive themselves would represent the most significant transformation in road travel since the introduction of the internal combustion engine. But it’s vital that trials are carried out safely, and… we learn everything we can through the trials so that legal, regulation and protection issues don’t get in the way.”

Source: Transport Xtra

More than 75 vehicles were seized by police in Northamptonshire during a month-long operation to target those who drive on the county’s roads without proper insurance.

The operation aimed to send a clear message that those who get behind the wheel without valid insurance will be identified and prosecuted.

The operation ran from October 27 to November 21, with officers targeting busy main roads and using automatic number plate recognition technology (ANPR) to identify the uninsured vehicles.

The drivers were then stopped and their vehicles seized.

In total, 77 vehicles were seized over the four-week period.

The operation involved officers from Northamptonshire Police and colleagues from neighbouring forces who form part of the East Midlands Operational Support Service.

Sergeant Darron Bishop, who led the operation, said: “Although this was a specific operation to focus on uninsured drivers, it’s something we look out for all year round and the message is clear – there is no excuse for not having insurance; it is illegal and officers will seize your vehicle if you are not covered,”

ANPR cameras are supporting police forces throughout the world to reduce the number of uninsured drivers, reducing risk to other drivers and helping to drive down insurance premiums

Source: Northamptonshire Telegraph