<http://reneweconomy.com.au/autonomous-vehicle-trials-to-ramp-up-as-national-guidelines-published-89451/>
By Sophie Vorrath on 24 May 2017
A set of national guidelines to support trials of automated vehicles
on Australian roads has been published, in a first regulatory step
towards the commercial deployment of “driverless” cars, and an era of
new mobility.
The guidelines – a joint publication of the National Transport
Commission (NTC) and Austroads – support state and territory road
agencies in providing exemptions or permits for trials, and give
greater certainty to industry on conditions for trials.
Released on Wednesday, they are the first stage of a reform roadmap,
agreed to by ministers in November 2016, which aims to develop an
end-to-end regulatory system for eventual commercial deployment of
automated vehicles.
So far in Australia, the South Australian government has been the most
pro-active state in supporting autonomous vehicle R&D, last year
becoming the first state to legalise controlled testing of driverless
cars on public roads.
In October 2016, it launched a $10 million grant funding round aimed
at accelerating the development and rollout of autonomous and
connected vehicles.
And in January this year, UK-based autonomous transport developer RDM
Group revealed plans to establish its Asia-Pacific headquarters in
Adelaide, citing “massive demand” for creating autonomous mobility
solutions in Australia.
But Australia remains behind the global pace on the technology, with
some 14 trials underway in California alone in the US by mid-way
through last year.
A recent report has predicted that by 2030, within 10 years of
regulatory approval of autonomous electric vehicles (A-EVs), 95 per
cent of all US passenger miles traveled would be be served by
on-demand, autonomous, electric vehicles that will be owned by fleets
rather than individuals.
NTC chief, Paul Retter, said the new Australian guidelines were
designed to be flexible and easy for industry to use, to support
trials across the nation.
“We have worked closely with vehicle manufacturers, technology
developers and federal, state and territory governments to ensure our
approach to trials is nationally-consistent and reflects best
practice,” Retter said.
“With a range of different environmental conditions, a receptive
population and now guidelines for the safe conduct of trials,
Australia has the potential to become a global testing and innovation
hub for automated vehicles.”
The two groups said that industry would have “enormous flexibility” in
the type of trials that could be run, as long as they satisfied key
requirements, including safety plans and insurance.
Trialling organisations would also need to provide data from trials to
road transport agencies, including details of any crashes.
“This approach allows industry to innovate – they just need to
demonstrate that they are managing the risks, including any risk to
other road users,” Retter said.
State and territory governments are also reviewing their exemption
powers to ensure that they have appropriate powers to support trials.
“We’re looking forward to the Australian public getting a first-hand
view of the benefits of these new and emerging technologies,” said
Nick Koukoulas, CEO of Austroads.
The guidelines are available for download on the NTC and Austroads
websites.
--
David Boxall | When a distinguished but elderly
| scientist states that something is
http://david.boxall.id.au | possible, he is almost certainly
| right. When he states that
| something is impossible, he is
| very probably wrong.
--Arthur C. Clarke
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