Automated driving getting closer

Motorists may be using limited automated driving in as little as three years, according to German automotive systems giant Continental, writes Brian Byrne.

At a car symposium in Germany, the company's boss Elmar Degenhart suggested that some form of automated driving could be initiated on some simple highway sections by 2016, with speeds limited to 30 km/h.

By 2020, he said, that speed limit would be doubled and more complex automated systems could be in use. Degenhart suggested that long-distance fully automated driving could be in place by 2025.