Frequently asked questions

The M1 vehicles travelled on public roads, alongside regular cars driven by the public, under controlled conditions for limited time periods in a demonstration environment. Trained operators were always at the wheel ready to take control of the cars if needed. The low-speed pods were designed to operate in pedestrianised areas and did not therefore operate on the highway, other than when crossing the road.

The precise roads and footpaths used were determined following discussions with Milton Keynes Council and Coventry City Council. The roads selected provided a mix of grid-based streets (in Milton Keynes) and more traditional urban road layouts (in both cities). The roads and road layouts were selected to publically demonstrate the capabilities of the vehicles within the project.

As well as inviting members of the public to observe some of the trial days, we held regular information events in Milton Keynes and Coventry as well as publishing announcements and key findings from the programme on the UK Autodrive website. In addition, we ran a series of surveys, both in the host cities and around the world, to monitor changes in public opinion towards self-driving vehicles.

The pavement-based pods had a maximum capable speed of 24kmh (15mph) but were further limited electronically depending upon the environment they were travelling in (for example, moving more slowly in congested areas). The M1 cars had an operator at the wheel throughout the duration of the programme and drove within the regular speed limits of the roads being used for the trials.