Solving the chicken-and-egg equation with driverless cars
KPMG claims that autonomous vehicles are being held back by the need for infrastructure to support them.
The consultancy and analyst firm’s Autonomous Vehicle Readiness index (AVRI) ranks the UK as the 9th most advanced connected and autonomous vehicle market in the world. The country is, nevertheless, within the top five countries for cyber-security. The 2020 report also says: “The UK retains its second place on the Policy and Legislation pillar, with the government continuing to make substantial progress in this area over the past year.
“Building on 2018’s Automated and Electric Vehicles Act, UK Government launched its second consultation paper in a three-year review of the UK’s regulatory framework for automated vehicles. This explores AV regulation for public service vehicles, including how unstaffed minibuses or taxis would be kept safe and clean for passengers. Furthermore, in support of its Future of Transport Regulatory Review, UK Government has recently launched a wide-ranging consultation considering (amongst other areas) flexible bus services, micro-mobility vehicles such as electric scooters and mobility as a service (MaaS).”
UK leadership position
Fleet News says the findings point to the UK’s leadership position around policy and security measures, “but it says physical and digital infrastructure is needed to make sure it doesn’t get pushed out of the top 10. Compared to last year’s ranking, the UK has slipped two places, with South Korea and the United Arab Emirates inching ahead owing to planned infrastructure investments”.
However, an article in Automotive World headlines: ‘Autonomous vehicles must prove their worth before cities adapt’. Even without the infrastructure to support them, there is an expectation that connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) must prove themselves without the necessary investment in required infrastructure to support them. This is creating a chicken-and-egg situation and the need is clear for this conundrum to be resolved to improve the prospect of us all seeing fully AVs on our roads in years to come.
To read the complete article, visit TU-Automotive.