SARTRE project update. Autonomous vehicles breaking the rules?

Date: 29/1/2010

Source: ‘There to be broken?’ Vision Zero International, January 2010, pg. 34-37 and Thinking Highways

Autonomous driving could become a reality as soon as the end of the next decade. Imagine you join a convoy of cars and are able to relax while your car is driven automatically by the SARTRE system.

The project team anticipate that commuters who make long motorway journeys would benefit most, but that the system would also be useful for buses, coaches, lorries and other commercial vehicles.  Each convoy would be led by an experienced driver who is familiar with the route.  Vehicle navigation systems would be used to link vehicles to the convoy and then autonomous driving would take over. On approaching the final destination, vehicles would each disconnect and continue to drive as usual to their separate destinations.

The SARTRE team believe that such technology could improve traffic flow, reduce journey times, increase road safety and reduce fuel consumption due to the lower air drag associated with vehicles travelling in convoy. However, the Vienna Convention from 1968, which says “that a driver must remain in control of a vehicle at all times”, may restrict implementation.

ITS Radar International will continue to monitor SARTRE

Keywords: Cooperative vehicle systems, Environment, In-vehicle systems, Policy, Project, Safety