Driverless car trials on public roads

8th April 2016

Volvo Car

Joe Bush

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At a recent event in Beijing, it has been announced that car manufacturer Volvo will conduct a driverless car trial on public roads in an as yet unannounced city in the country. A spokesperson for Volvo, which is Chinese-owned, highlighted that autonomous cars are developing rapidly in China and actually has undertaken a far higher number of driverless cars tests than the more widely publicised Google trials in the US.

Far removed from similar trials undertaken in tightly controlled conditions where autonomous cars are not exposed to real life conditions, the true worth of driverless systems can only be measured when they are put to the test on busy public roads, during rush hour and surrounded by cyclists and buses.

As such the company announced that up to 100 cars could take part in the trials where local drivers will test the cars on public roads and in every day conditions. The self-driving cars that Volvo is envisioning will be like normal cars that alert the driver when autopilot mode can be activated, on freeways or in specific zones such as gated neighbourhoods or industrial parks. The company is currently scouting for a city that could provide the necessary permissions, regulations and infrastructure to allow the experiment to go ahead.

Of course that will mean letting in-progress systems and software loss on the roads, but Volvo claim that around 90% of accidents could be avoided with autonomous systems and are therefore pushing uncertain governments to be more receptive and help the automotive industry by putting legislation in place that will speed-up the roll-out of autonomous cars onto the roads.