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65% of motorists believe a human should always be in control of a vehicle despite the development of driverless cars, according to a new study.

A new study by IAM RoadSmart finds that 65% of British motorists believe a human should always be in control of a vehicle despite the development of driverless cars.

In a survey of 1,000 British drivers, more than a third (34%) said they thought the technology was a bad idea, with 52% saying driverless technology would never be the norm on UK roads.

Despite high levels of support for hi-tech advances that impoved road safety by targeting human errors respondees indicated a desire to maintain in control. When asked whether they would consider using a driverles car only 32% said they would.

This week, Volvo announced it would begin testing autonomous cars with real people on real roads in real traffic situations in London from early next year. The Swedish car-maker described the project as the ‘most ambitious’ autonomous car experiment to date.

Tests of 'truck platooning' are also due to be carried out on UK motorways, following a committment in the March Budget to establish the UK as a global centre for excellence in connected and autonomous vehicles.

A two-carriage platoon of driverless trucks drove from Belgium to Rotterdam earlier this month as part of a challenge to demonstrate the viability of automated freight transport.

Proposals sweeping away regulations that prevent autonomous driving are expected to be brought forward this summer, which would allow driverless cars to take to the roads by 2020.

techUK is continuing to look at the opportunities and challenges of connected and autonomous vehicles and as part of this work we are holding a session looking at 'Securing the Connected Car' on 9 May 2016.