HUMAN driven cars competing for road space with robotic driverless vehicles is a nightmare in waiting, says the AA.

This is the message from the motoring organisation in response to a Transport Select Committee report Motoring of the Future.

While the AA says the report poses many pertinent questions about the future of motoring, it maintains that neither the report nor government has yet shown the vision to answer those questions.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “The report rightly points to potential problems of a transition period on the roads. There is a potential nightmare scenario whereby robotic driverless cars are fighting for space with cars with humans behind the wheel and indeed semi-autonomous cars with no one totally in control.

“We really need a safe vision for the future whereby all vehicles and all road users, can coexist in harmony. This vision will entail government, manufacturers, insurers and indeed drivers agreeing the way ahead.

“New technologies offer the prospect of cleaner, safer and cheaper motoring. Better electronic communication, allowing cars to talk to those that can assist them, means that drivers in distress on the roadside stay connected to and not cut-off from help.

“However, government agencies and companies that facilitate these new technologies must always keep in mind: what works for the boffins may be baffling for the motorists. What may be a quantum leap in auto sophistication may be a leap of faith too far for the average driver.”