Friday, March 29

Driving and watching TV will be legal in some countries this year. The only problem: not yet possible


Watch football in the car, instead of listening to it on the radio, while driving it will be legal very soon in the UK. The only problem is that, technically, it is not yet possible. So, we will still have to wait for the zapping and the family complaints to see who uses the car screen will still have to wait.


This possibility has been included in the draft in which the United Kingdom Government is working to reform its Highway Code, its traffic regulations. When its approval is firm, it will be legal to watch TV while the car circulates autonomously, although with a series of conditions that must be taken into account.

Goal at Anfield!

Few things can annoy a football fan more than missing a game because of a jam. But, in the UK, things will be different in the short term, because in this situation it will be possible to follow the development of the game as long as the car is in a traffic jam and the game is played on the central screen of the car.

This will be possible on vehicles equipped with the Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS). This autonomous driving system allows the driver to almost completely forget what is happening around him. Up to 37 mph (almost 60 km/h), the vehicle moves without human intervention on the highway and is capable of stopping and starting again if stuck in a traffic jam.

If necessary, the system is capable of give up control quickly and safely to the driver. This detail is really important, since the playback of videos will only be allowed on the central infotainment screen of the vehicle. In this way, if the car needs human intervention, it can immediately switch to the usual interface and have the human take control.

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In fact, from the Government they have clarified that the use of mobile phones at the wheel will not be allowed, since they consider that it is a more absorbing activity and that, if required, the driver can ignore the signals sent by the car to recover the controls.

Looking at the future

With these legislative changes, which the British Government hopes to have in place before finish the year, it will be possible to drive cars that reach this level of autonomy. Mercedes has approved this system, called DRIVEPilot, in Germany and Honda did the same in Japan with its Traffic Jam Assist.

In addition, in the new formulation of its Highway Code, the United Kingdom Government will specify that drivers will not be responsible in the event of an accident with activated autonomous systems. An idea that Mercedes already joined a few weeks ago.

Autonomous car looking for a driver: the legal battle to redefine it and set limits

The changes will also be part of a specific regulations for the autonomous car that you want to have ready in 2025. With it, you want to regulate everything related to this type of car. Until then, this latest wording will pave the way.

In addition, these changes are also important for manufacturers, who are dedicating more and more efforts to the development of software and connected services, some of them by subscription. In this sense, during the presentation of its entire ID family, Volkswagen already specified that they hoped to offer streaming services in their vehicles in the future.

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