Trials of driverless cars will be held on South Australian roads in November as part of a program overseen by ARRB, the SA State Government and key stakeholders.
The Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative will involve trials of autonomous models of the Volvo XC90 on the Southern Expressway in Adelaide. One side of the Southern Expressway will be cordoned off for the trials and will comprise three lanes of traffic. However, the driverless cars won’t directly interact with other traffic.
The purpose of the trials is to see how the current driverless vehicle technology interacts with the Australian road environment to understand how the technology can be best adapted. Issues under consideration during the trial will include Australian driving behaviour, climate and road conditions such as infrastructure, markings, surfaces and roadside signage.
ARRB’s Managing Director, Gerard Waldron praised the South Australian Government for its support of the trial and commented that other governments have now expressed interest in hosting their own schemes.
“It's important we conduct the trials while the technology is still being developed and finessed to ensure that Australia is one of the first markets for these vehicles,” said Waldron.
“Driverless cars will create a range of benefits that could significantly improve road safety and the quality of life of everyday Australians, add to the nation's economic competitiveness and help relieve the rapidly growing congestion that is crippling our infrastructure and creating productivity deficits in our capital cities.”
According to Waldron, automated elements will slowly become standard in new vehicles and he predicts that automated vehicles will start coming onto the market in a mere decade.
“The way this technology is moving, in 20 to 30 years' time no-one will manually drive a vehicle, so driverless vehicles will be the mainstay of personal mobility and road freight, but it won't happen instantly - incremental changes make this technology much more approachable,” he said.
Volvo Car Australia Managing Director Kevin McCann welcomed the scheme and expressed his delight at being involved in such a project.
“At Volvo we believe autonomous drive will lead to significant consumer and societal benefits, including improved traffic safety, improved fuel economy, reduced congestion, and the opportunity for improved infrastructure planning,” said McCann.
South Australia has taken an early lead on the development of driverless car technology. In March, SA Governor Hieu Van Le announced plans to legislate for driverless vehicles in SA.
Then in July, South Australian Premier, Hon Jay Weatherill expressed his support for the trial being held in the state.
“This trial presents a fantastic opportunity for South Australia to take a lead nationally and internationally in the development of this new technology and open up new opportunities for our economy,” said Weatherill.
Partners working with ARRB and the SA Government on the trial include Robert Bosch Australia, Volvo, Telstra and the RAA SA.
“This type of technology has the potential to be a real win for road safety and mobility in South Australia,” said RAA SA General Manager Public Affairs Penny Gale.
“Removing the need for a driver will open up a whole range of transport opportunities for many of our members, particularly people with disabilities and the elderly. While removing the reliance on human behaviour will undoubtedly save lives.”
Gale said that by 2020 all cars that come off the production line will have some ability to drive themselves, and so Australia needs to prepare for this.
“By applying international research in these trials, we can work towards understanding what is required to make driverless technology suitable for our local road conditions and to keep road users safe,” she said.
ARRB is currently seeking technology industry partners to assist them in Australia’s driverless vehicle innovation. In addition, it is calling for additional states, territories and partners to support this important national research initiative.
The SA Government will host the Driverless Vehicle Conference from 7-8 November 2015 where it will explore a range of topics in relation to driverless cars and will include expert speakers from both Australia and overseas.
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