LONDON: Volvo Cars is taking steps to begin autonomous driving (AD) trials in the UK next year - dubbed Drive Me London, in order to help accelerate its introduction to help reduce the frequency of accidents, congested roads and commuting times.

The Swedish car maker that invented the three-point seat belt in 1959, is pioneering the development of AD systems globally as part of its commitment to eradicate the possibility of people being seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo by 2020.

Drive Me London will differentiate itself from other AD programmes by using real families driving AD cars on public roads (rather than on test tracks) as its source to further develop the technology and make it suitable for real world driving conditions.

Thatcham Research will be providing technical data analysis and professional test drivers when needed as part of the trial

The trail looks to start in early 2017, with a limited number of semi-autonomous driving cars that will be further expanded in 2018 to include up to 100 AD cars - making it the largest and most extensive AD testing programme on Britain’s streets.

The introduction of AD cars promises to revolutionise Britain’s roads in four main areas – safety, congestion, pollution and time saving.

Independent research has revealed that AD has the potential to reduce the number of car accidents by up to 30% with up to 90% of all accidents presently caused by driver error or distraction.

Thatcham Research chief executive Peter Shaw said: “Vehicle manufacturers are predicting that highly autonomous vehicles, capable of allowing the driver to drop ‘out of the loop’ for certain sections of their journey, will be available from around 2021. Without doubt, crash frequency will also dramatically reduce. We’ve already seen this with the adoption of Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) on many new cars.

"Research in the US by NHTSA predicts that by 2035, as a result of autonomous and connected cars, crashes will be reduced by 80%. Additionally, if a crash unfortunately can’t be avoided, then the impact speed will also drop as a result of the system’s performance - reducing the severity of the crash.”

In terms of congestion, AD cars allow traffic to move more smoothly, reducing traffic jams and by extension cutting dangerous emissions and associated pollution, while saving valuable time.

Volvo Cars president and chief executive Håkan Samuelsson said that there are multiple benefits to AD cars

“That is why governments globally need to put in place the legislation and infrastructure to allow AD cars onto the streets as soon as possible. The car industry cannot do it all by itself. We need governmental help.”

He added that AD cars are very much a "leap forward" in terms of car safety and "the sooner AD cars are on the roads, the sooner lives will start being saved.”