Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any autonomous or semi-autonomous driving trials have been approved for public roads in the UK, using purely optical cameras or radar, without LIDAR systems.

The Government does not approve trials of automated vehicle technology. As set out in the UK Code of Practice, developers can carry out trials if they are conducted in line with UK law. The Code does not specify what technology should or should not be used as part of a trial.

Around a dozen current publicly funded projects will be undertaking trials on automated vehicles up to 2021. The vehicles, in general, have a combination of sensor types, for example vision, radar, sonar and/or lidar, to suit the needs of the environmental conditions and use case. The Government does not stipulate what sensor suites projects should use. It is up to project partners to demonstrate what suite will safely deliver on road trials in line with current road traffic law, as highlighted in the UK Code of Practice.