Victoria to trial autonomous vehicles to reduce risk on rural roads

In rural Victoria during 2019, automated vehicle technology will be tested in the first on-road trial, approved under the new Automated Driving System (ADS) permit scheme

- Victoria, Australia
Victoria to trial autonomous vehicles to reduce risk on rural roads

Acting Premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced that Bosch has been awarded $2.3 million from the Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) Trial Grants Program, and granted the state’s first ADS permit for on-road testing of highly automated driving systems.

In 2018, Victoria finalised regulations to support the ADS permit scheme, which authorises the use of automated vehicles for testing and development on roads.

The aim of the trial is to use the state-of-the-art technology to improve safety on rural Victorian roads – where drivers are five times as likely to be killed in a crash than in metropolitan areas.

The testing will be conducted on roads that expose the automated vehicle to a range of different conditions including traffic, weather and infrastructure.

Jacinta Allan said: “Victoria is leading the nation in the future of on-road technology and this trial is an exciting step towards driverless vehicles hitting the road. The tragic fact is that you’re five times as likely to be killed on a rural road than in the city. That’s why we’re rolling out a record roads investment in rural Victoria – and this is another way we can improve safety and save lives.”

The $9 million Connected and Automated Vehicle Trial Grants Program is funded through the Andrews Labor Government’s $1.4 billion Towards Zero Action Plan.

The trials will support Victoria’s readiness for CAV technologies and the knowledge gained will provide a better understanding of the infrastructure required to get these vehicles on the road, maximising their safety benefits.

Member for Clarinda, Meng Heang Tak, said: “This is not only great news for road safety – but our local community also benefits with high skilled jobs and more investment.”

About Intelligent Transport

Intelligent Transport LogoServing the transport industry for more than 15 years, Intelligent Transport (formerly Eurotransport) is the leading source for information in the urban public transport sector. Covering all the new technologies and developments within this vitally important sector, Intelligent Transport provides high-quality analysis across our core topics: Smart Cities, Digitalisation, Intermodality, Ticketing and Payments, Safety and Security, The Passenger, The Fleet, Business Models and Regulation and Legislation. With articles from across the globe, we explore how and why industry decision makers operate the way they do, and examine how technology is changing the dynamics of transport.

  • Join our community for FREE today!

  • Create and share your own profile

  • Join the discussions

  • Publish your own items

  • Subscription to our Weekly eNewsletter

your benefits?

Get connected with Mass Transit Professionals Worldwide

Create your account

Go To Registration

FREE membership benefits

  • * create and share your own profile
  • * join the discussions
  • * publish your own items on Mass Transit Networkmanage news, jobs, tenders, companies, events, showcases, educations, associations and literature.
  • * subscribe to our eNewsletter
Add news yourself

Comments

There are no comments yet for this item

Join the discussion

You can only add a comment when you are logged in. Click here to login