Driverless cars will need to be protected from hackers who could take control of vehicles to cause chaos on the roads, cyber security and transport experts have warned.

While autonomous vehicles, such as Google’s self-driving car, could reduce road casualties by eliminating human error, they could also increase the risk of accidents amongst motorists who continue to use manual cars if they are allowed to mix on the same roads.

Recent research conducted in driving simulators has shown that human drivers change their behaviour when using the same road as autonomous cars by copying the driving styles and leaving less space between the vehicle in front.

While an autonomous vehicle, equipped with sensors would be able to react almost instantaneously, reaction times in human drivers are slower.

The warnings come as the Institution of Engineering and Technology publishes a report on autonomous vehicles and how they can be integrated onto British roads. It predicts that within 15 years there will be full autonomous vehicles transporting goods and people around Britain, bringing cheaper and safer mobility for passengers.

The first driverless vehicles are expected to begin appearing on Britain’s roads from January next year under a series of trials to be conducted in three cities by the Department for Transport.

However, Hugh Boyes, cyber security lead at the IET, said the reliability and security of software used in driverless cars will be a major issue for manufacturers and insurers. “If the hacker community could start to target vehicles we can imagine a fair amount of chaos. Unfortunately living in the world today people do try to tamper with technology. The industry is only just starting to recognise this.”

Courtesy of Guardian News