Cars could drive themselves sooner than expected after European push
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Cars could be driving themselves down the world's streets far sooner than expected, thanks to a change in a global treaty backed by European countries.
A little-noticed amendment to the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic agreed last month would let drivers take their hands off the wheel of self-driving cars. It was pushed by Germany, Italy and France, whose high-end carmakers believe they are ready to zoom past American tech pioneers and bring the first "autonomous vehicles" to market.
"Today I am only allowed to take my hands off the wheel to a limited extent. Thankfully the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic has been changed," said Thomas Weber, head of Group research at Daimler and head of development at Mercedes-Benz.
For years, so-called "autonomous vehicles" have been a futuristic dream pioneered by silicon valley companies like Google.
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