Drivers in UK can take hands off wheel as self-driving approved

Car companies, like Mercedes here, are increasingly offering features that allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel. The UK is now the latest country to allow these self-driving systems. — Photo: Marijan Murat/dpa

LONDON: Drivers on Britain’s motorways are being allowed to let go of steering wheels for the first time, after the UK became the first European country to approve a hands-free system.

Ford said it has been given the go-ahead by the UK government to switch on its BlueCruise self-driving technology across the country, after the system was introduced in the US and Canada last year.