Drivers in the UK are, in fact, allowed to watch TV while behind the wheel of a self-driving car, under new rules announced by the country’s Ministry of Transport. While drivers are currently not allowed to watch “non-driving content” on a “television receiving device”, this rule would be lifted under specific circumstances once the proposals go into effect. According to BBC News, the new rules will be introduced into UK traffic regulations this summer.

The ability to watch TV has some limitations. A car must be self-driving at that point and the driver must be ready to take back control of the vehicle if necessary. Importantly, drivers are only allowed to view content “via the vehicle’s built-in infotainment device”. The thinking here is that an infotainment system can stop showing a TV show or movie when the car needs the driver’s attention, unlike a phone. Using a handheld phone while driving, regardless of its use, remains illegal.

It is still illegal to use a cell phone while driving

But perhaps the most significant restriction is that the new rules only apply to cars registered as self-driving vehicles under UK law, and the page listing such vehicles is currently noticeably blank. There are currently no self-driving vehicles listed for use in the UK,” it reads. However, the Department for Transport optimistically believes the first such vehicles could be ready for use “later this year”, although the exact technical standard a car must reach to be called “self-driving” is currently unclear.

However, the proposed rules make it clear that “self-driving” differs from cars with “assisted driving functions”, which can handle certain driving tasks, but generally leave the driver responsible. Examples include cruise control and lane assistance.

The new rules are intended as an interim measure ahead of a full regulatory framework to be introduced by 2025. In addition to changing the rules on screen use, the highway code will also be updated to clarify the important differences between self-driving vehicles. and driver assistance technologies, and will also provide more details about the rules that still apply to a driver, even when behind the wheel of a self-driving car (such as within the legal limits of intoxication).

This post Watching TV from behind the wheel of a self-driving car is allowed under British law

was original published at “https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/22/23037000/watching-tv-self-driving-cars-uk-law-highway-code”