StreetWise reveals consumer confidence in autonomous vehicles

1 September 2020

Consumer confidence in autonomous driving technologies is high – this was the major result from a commuter trial in London led by the UK’s self-driving technology firm, Five, in a project partnership called StreetWise, alongside TRL and Direct Line Group. 96% of all participants rated their overall journey experience as positive to very positive, thanks in part to the project’s rigorous safety protocols, with 86% stating that their expectations had been exceeded. Factors that drove these results included the self-driving system’s ability to keep a safe distance, perceive and manoeuvre safely around obstacles and hazards, drive like a human and manage roundabouts – common in Europe but almost entirely absent in the US – as well as participants’ trust in the diligence and professionalism of the safety driver in each vehicle.

The StreetWise project’s commuter trial phase, the UK’s most advanced demonstration of autonomous driving on public roads, involved inviting members of the public to experience being driven autonomously on a busy 13-mile route in London. This included shared tramways, a variety of roundabouts, cyclists, pedestrians, T-junctions, signalised pedestrian crossings and a wide variety of vulnerable road users. Not only did Five’s self-driving system have to be high functioning but one of the most rigorous safety cases had to be developed and monitored to assure safe operation.

The safety case incorporated a complete review of the vehicle platform and automated driving system (ADS), safety driver and test engineer selection, training and compliance with the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Code of Practice for automated vehicles testing, UK vehicle standards, UK driving rules and road traffic laws. Five developed all the self-driving software, tested it on proving grounds and in simulation, demonstrated compliance with the safety case, Code of Practice and all applicable laws and delivered the driving experience to members of the public.

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Source: The Transport Research Laboratory.