Institution responds to Budget 2015

The Institution's Philippa Oldham welcomes some of the Budget's investments but says more work needs to be done to convince the public of the benefits of driverless technologies.

Philippa Oldham, Head of Transport and Manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said in response to today’s UK Budget:

 “There are some welcome investments as part of today’s budget including the £60 million earmarked for a new Energy Research Accelerator in the Midlands and the £138 million investment towards the UK Centre for Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure and Cities. These investments will hopefully help spur innovation and enable more joined-up cross sectorial thinking when developing new city infrastructure.

“The £100 million investment into Research and Development for intelligent mobility is also welcome news. Autonomous vehicles have the potential to make driving safer, greener and more efficient, and could help boost the UK’s vital car manufacturing sector. But Government must now work hard to convince the public of the benefits of these technologies – a poll by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers last year found that over half of the public would not use a driverless car.”