Vehicles are increasingly equipped with automatic features, such as automatic parking, adaptive cruise control and stop-and-go control systems. These automatic features are rapidly developing further.
Stakeholders believe in the potential benefits for significant change in road mobility with the introduction of cooperative ITS (Intelligent Traffic Systems) systems. Innovations in this field should allow us to improve traffic flows on our roads in terms of safety, efficiency and environmental impact.
Cars will get gradually smarter and in the future, cars will become more and more automated. This innovation will run simultaneously with increasing data-communication between cars on the road and with installations at the roadside.
Benefits of self-driving vehicles (cars and lorries):
Fewer accidents
- 90% of traffic accidents can be attributed to human error. This means that self-driving vehicles have a significant potential to reduce the risk of road accidents.
Less fuel and lower emissions
- Self-driving and ITS have potential to reduce emissions and improve efficiency. Platooning for instance, which allows trucks to follow one another more closely, reduces the effect of air resistance. This can lead to a 5%-15% reduction in fuel consumption, with a comparable reduction in CO2 emissions.
Fewer tailbacks
- Communication between vehicles can have a positive impact on traffic flows. For example, coordination with respect to braking and accelerating will result in fewer unnecessary tailbacks.
Gaining practical experience with these new systems, will allow our government to keep pace with these technological advancements. For example by any necessary adjustment of domestic and international legislation, physical/digital infrastructure and mandatory driving skills. Requirements for self-driving vehicles and safety in the UAE are to be drafted by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA).
Sources: https://www.government.nl/topics/mobility-public-transport-and-road-safety/self-driving-vehicles; https://www.thenational.ae/uae/transport/uae-to-introduce-regulations-for-self-driving-vehicles-1.619081
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