New Highway Code rules could allow watching movies in self-driving cars

Need to catch up on your favourite TV show? If you’re the owner of a self-driving car, you might not have to wait until you get home.

Under new Highway Code rules – proposed by the Department for Transport with the aim to legalise driverless technology – motorists will be allowed to take their eyes off the road and use in-built screens for the internet, emails and television.

The go-ahead to look away

The proposed rules – which are intended to smooth the way for the adoption of autonomous vehicles on British roads – would allow drivers to watch content “not related to driving on built-in display screens, while the self-driving vehicle is in control”.

The use of mobile phones at the wheel, however, is still banned “given the greater risk they pose in distracting drivers as shown in research”.

If drivers do take their eyes of the road to watch a movie, they must be ‘ready to resume control in a timely way’ if prompted by their car, restricting them to their seat. And, if drivers end up in accidents, insurance companies will be financially liable, rather than individual motorists.

The new rules state that ‘a self-driving vehicle’s ability to drive itself may be limited to certain situations or parts of a journey. Things like the type of road, time of day, weather, location and speed may affect this’.

They also mention ‘you should follow the manufacturer’s instructions about when and how to use the self-driving function safely’’.

How automated is your car?

The Department for Transport says this rule would apply to vehicles that ‘would be approved as self-driving only when they have met stringent standards’.

The self-driving vehicle industry currently uses a six-point scale, from 0 to 5, to help define a self-driving vehicle. Anything above 3 on this scale is “automated” to some degree. A level 5 car, which never needs a human to take over and could be made without a steering wheel entirely, is considered “full automation”.

Level 3 automation is on British roads already, and is being followed closely by Level 4.

How many British motorists think they’re better behind the wheel than an autonomous vehicle? Read to find out.