Industry must come together before autonomous cars hit the road.

14 April 2021

Source: Dr Chris Davies, head of global technical superiority at Autoglass writes for Fleet News.

''As Project Endeavour, the UK’s mobility project designed to accelerate the adoption of autonomous vehicle services, expands, there are still issues to be addressed before self-driving vehicles can be safely introduced to our roads.

A recent survey by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart revealed over half (60%) of motorists consider the growing ability of vehicles to drive themselves as a serious threat to road safety.

While autonomous vehicles will no doubt reduce accidents, many motorists remain fearful of handing over control to their vehicles.

The introduction of autonomous vehicles poses several questions for fleet managers, particularly around legislation and the guidelines for responsibility.

As the Government continues to push forward with plans to introduce cars with Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities, it is crucial that fleet managers understand the following safety issues before they hit the road.

As we have seen with the growth of vehicles equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), more automation means a greater need for education of fleet managers and drivers.

Currently, there is a real disconnect in the understanding of ADAS technology along the supply chain.

Whilst awareness of the technology and how it mitigates driver risk, provided the systems and cameras are accurately calibrated, has improved in recent years, many drivers remain unaware of which ADAS systems their vehicles are equipped with.''

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