Self-driving vehicles ... cabinet approves UAE pilot project

Last week we saw the announcement from the UAE cabinet about the approval of testing self-driving vehicles. We were invited by Khaleej Times to share our views:
"...Safety first
When it comes to automobiles, safety is the first thing that comes to mind. The need for a safe driverless vehicle becomes even more important when around 95 per cent of accidents are due to human error in the country.
“Much of the reckless driving we observe every day is also driven by human behavior. Hence, from a road safety perspective of course self-driving vehicles and autonomous vehicles are desirable, assuming 100 per cent accurate technology and enough 'critical mass' of autonomous vehicles,” said Thomas Edelmann, managing director of RoadSafetyUAE.
“To reach there,” he said, “it needs testing and real-life evaluation. In this sense, the UAE is once again paving the way to the future, in particular the future of the automotive industry.”
He noted that the various pilot projects of driver-less vehicles with full automation in the UAE are conducted in closed environments and from a road safety perspective this is definitely the right way to go..."
Check out the full article here!
What do you think about this trial?
|