Motorists behind the wheel of self-driving cars will be able to watch a film but not use their mobile phones under updates planned for the UK’s Highway Code.
The Royal Automobile Club said manufacturers need to ensure that people do not fall asleep at the wheel.
With self-driving cars, the person in the front seat will need to be available and ready, rather than in permanent command of the vehicle.
Drivers will be allowed to watch television programmes and films on built-in screens while using self-driving cars, but it will still be illegal to use a mobile phone behind the wheel.
Under the Department for Transport plans, congested, slow-moving motorway traffic will be the first situation in which self-driving cars are allowed to take over.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said driverless cars “promise a future where death and injury on our roads are cut significantly” but there is likely to be a “long period of transition” while drivers retain “much of the responsibility for what happens”.
“Many of the systems that are being devised require the driver, perhaps, not to be in command of the vehicle but to be available to take back control if necessary,” he said.
“The government’s research has found it is far more distracting for people to be on a mobile phone — particularly if they’re having a conversation with someone and their mind is somewhere else — than if they’re in the vehicle, even if they are looking at a screen or reading a book.
“There’s a key role here for the auto industry to help people sitting in the driver’s seat.
“If they need to be staying alert and awake, we need to help them. Otherwise with the car on the motorway cruising along and driving itself, the greatest risk, I think, is they are going to nod off.”
He said the new rules were a sign that self-driving vehicles are coming and that the updated Highway Code showed it was close to becoming a reality.
“We will be able to travel in vehicles such as shuttle buses, or [have] a facility in a car we own that we can trigger when we are in slow-moving traffic on a motorway, which is looking like the first application that is going to come,” Mr Gooding said.
Users of self-driving cars will not be responsible for crashes under the proposed changes, and insurance companies rather than individuals will be liable for claims in those circumstances, the Department for Transport said.
Mr Gooding said that evidence from trials so far indicated that most accidents were caused by the other driver.
“If you are the driver and have triggered the automated system, I think it would be unfair to hold you responsible for something the vehicle did,” Mr Gooding said.
A full regulatory framework is expected to be in place by 2025.
There are no vehicles approved for self-driving on Britain's roads, but the first could be given the go-ahead this year.
The Department for Transport announced in April 2021 it would allow hands-free driving on congested motorways in vehicles with lane-keeping technology.
Existing technology on the market such as cruise control and automatic stop/start is classified as “assistive”, meaning users must be fully in control.
Transport minister Trudy Harrison said updating to the Highway Code will be a “major milestone in our safe introduction of self-driving vehicles”, which she claimed will “revolutionise the way we travel”.
“This exciting technology is developing at pace right here in Britain and we're ensuring we have strong foundations in place for drivers when it takes to our roads,” she said.
“In doing so, we can help improve travel for all while boosting economic growth across the nation and securing Britain's place as a global science superpower.”
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
More on Quran memorisation:
The Details
Article 15
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Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Australia
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MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
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