UK driverless car advance ‘slowed by potholes and poor broadband’

Tetsuya Lijima from Nissan giving a demonstration around the roads of east London of a prototype Nissan Leaf driverless car.

A new study has found that the development of self-driving vehicles in the UK is being hampered by potholes on roads and poor broadband.

Analysis by consultancy KPMG found that although the UK led the charge in the promotion of self-driving vehicles, it was being let down by an overall lack of high-quality infrastructure.

Slow mobile networks mean that cars can’t communicate with one another as effectively – and KPMG says the UK “lags behind other countries in 4G coverage”.

#Autonomousvehicles will revolutionise the way we live and work. So how ready is the UK compared to other countries? Download our 2019 Autonmous Vehicles Readiness Index to find out or grab a copy from our stand at #MOVE2019. https://t.co/6NMU2pY7TU #Mobility2030 pic.twitter.com/vyevRqt6gb
— KPMG in the UK (@kpmguk) February 12, 2019

Local road quality was highlighted in the report as well, particularly around towns where potholes are a common sight. The study also found that public scepticism about driverless cars was higher than in other countries included in the report.

However, it acknowledged that the UK was pushing towards better mobile networks, with extensive investments in 5G testing.

But it also admitted that the UK “needs to continue proactive efforts to address the critical factors of infrastructure and consumer acceptance”.

The survey looked to find out how well countries were preparing for the arrival of driverless technology and placed the UK seventh out of 25 – behind the Netherlands, Singapore, Norway, the US, Sweden and Finland.

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UK driverless car advance ‘slowed by potholes and poor broadband’