Connected Vehicles - who's in the driving seat?

• Published in: IET Conference Proceedings p. 14
• Main Authors: Patey, I, Pengelly, I, Canaway, I
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Stevenage, UK IET 2014; The Institution of Engineering & Technology
• Subjects: Systems theory applications in transportation; road traffic; connected vehicles; congestion safety; urban road network; investment cycles; road network operators; road safety; motorway-expressway; road operators; self-driving cars; rural road vehicles; road vehicles; Google car; driving seat; policy makers; vehicle journey
• ISBN: 9781849199193; 1849199191
• DOI: 10.1049/cp.2014.0807

"Google has shown that self-driving cars are inevitable - and the possibilities are endless"1 - although the response to the Google car from another motoring journalist is "why?"2. The technology exists to allow vehicles to be programmed with a destination and to arrive there without any intervention from a driver, the passengers can be deposited at their destination after which the vehicle can park itself and then return when required. Meanwhile, road network operators continue to seek solutions to fundamental issues such as congestion and road safety (for drivers, passengers, pedestrian and cyclists) as well as more structural concerns with pavements and infrastructure. The pace of change for technology is poles apart from that of the investment cycles and programmes developed and implemented by road network operators, can the two ever be reconciled? There is a significant risk that policy makers and road operators could find themselves more liable for the safety of travellers than at present. This paper considers how these parties might be affected by such changes by considering a typical vehicle journey from home to work in 3 scenarios: (1) Rural road - vehicles operating in isolation, with a mix of autonomous and `legacy' vehicles . (2) Motorway/expressway - a centrally controlled road accessible only to `equipped' vehicles . (3) Urban road network - with a mix of centrally controlled, autonomous and `legacy' vehicles. This paper poses a number of questions around Institutional issues, governance, responsibilities and liabilities and suggests a potential model for appraisal which should facilitate the safe, efficient and effective introduction of connected vehicles onto road networks.