Using mobile phone at the wheel could become legal again – but it depends on the car

Department for Transport commissioned Loughborough University and University College London to investigate road safety, which it says remains “our absolute priority” despite the development

Using a mobile phone behind the wheel could become legal in self-driving cars, it is reported.

Autonomous vehicles can be used in the UK in single-lane traffic below 37mph, such as a motorway traffic jam, but drivers must be able to regain control within 10 seconds if prompted.

Now, research commissioned by the Government shows drivers watching videos on a phone, reading a magazine or playing a game could regain control of the car in 10 seconds and the report claims such activities behind the wheel might be legalised.

People were slower to react when playing on a phone than when engaged in other activities, such as reading a magazine or drinking, but still did so within the 10-second timespan, the report added. Motorists caught using their phone while driving can be punished with a £200 fine and six penalty points. It is still illegal to use a phone if the car’s self-driving technology is in use.

But it is now legal to let technology drive your car if your vehicle has automated lane keeping system technology and in a single-lane travelling at less than 37mph, for example a motorway traffic jam. The car itself is responsible for driving and the motorist is legally not required to monitor the road under these circumstances.

And the Telegraph says the Highway Code states users are allowed to view content through a car’s in-built entertainment system and turn their attention away from the road – becoming a “user-in-charge” and not the driver – when automated lane keeping system technology is used on a single-lane travelling at less than 37mph.

Drivers in these cases, though, cannot do anything illegal, such as reading or using a phone. This could change, however, following the research conducted by Loughborough University and University College London for the Government.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it wanted to “fully understand how drivers interact with self-driving cars” but stresses road safety remains its “absolute priority”.

The research saw almost 100 people placed in simulators engage in a range of tasks behind the wheel. Scientists recorded how long it took them to regain control of the car once instructed and how effectively they did this.

Officials have yet to decide which activities will and will not be legalised behind the wheel of self-driving cars and have commissioned a second study to model how safely people can become a driver after doing non-driving behaviours.

A Department for Transport spokesman told the Telegraph: “Road safety is our absolute priority, and that’s why we commissioned this two-part study to fully understand how drivers interact with self-driving cars.

“Self-driving vehicles could play an important role in our Plan for Change, creating jobs and supporting the industries of the future, but any use of automated vehicles must not compromise road safety. We’ll set out further detail on the regulation and implementation of self-driving vehicles in due course.”