Driverless cars to 'hit' UK roads in near future

According to UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, Driverless cars would be on the roads in three to four years

Britain will see truly driverless cars on its roads in three to four years but there will still be a role for diesel cars for many years, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said on Monday.

“We are now rapidly approaching the era of the driverless car,” Grayling told the Conservative Party conference in the English city of Birmingham. “I expect the first truly driverless cars to be on our roads within three or four years.”



Grayling said he was committed to ending the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2040, but that diesel cars would have a role in years to come.

“Newer diesel cars today are cleaner than ever before and of course there will be a role for diesel for many years to come as technology evolves,” he said.

Meanwhile, UK finance minister Philip Hammond announced that Britain will unilaterally implement a digital service tax if there is no wider international agreement soon on how to tax the world’s biggest Internet companies.



“The best way to tax international companies is through international agreements but the time for talking is coming to an end and the stalling has to stop,” Hammond will tell the Conservative Party conference in the English city of Birmingham.

“If we cannot reach agreement, the UK will go it alone with a Digital Services Tax of its own,” he will say, according to a text of his speech.