ONE of Ford's leading advisers says that within six years technology will make the concept of a car 'driver' redundant as vehicles become extensions of the working environment.

Prof Henning Wallentowitz, director of the Aachen technical university - which Ford and other manufacturers use as a test centre - believes that technology will free the car driver from the responsibility of controlling the vehicle and the current debate on the safety implications of drivers using mobile phones will become redundant.

He said: 'We must reach the point where a driver is free to continue his or her work in the car, to be able to receive and respond to emails and make telephone calls.

'The work being carried out now on collision avoidance combined with GPS navigation, and intelligent traffic control systems means that in six years we will see vehicles that effectively drive themselves.'

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